On Tuesday, ICC announced that they will not impose any sanctions or penalties on Bangladesh,the announcement came as a relief for Bangladesh as it had boycotted the World Cup citing security reasons for travelling to India. The BCB stayed firm on their ground despite ICC’s request and they were replaced by Scotland in this marquee event. Bangladesh officials expressed their relief after the announcement.
Why did the ICC not penalise BCB?
ICC did not impose any commercial or financial penalty on BCB, ICC chose to have a lenient view of them. Sanjog Gupta, chief executive of the ICC said in a statement as quoted by cricbuzz, “Bangladesh remains a priority cricket ecosystem deserving of long-term investment in its development, competitiveness and global integration, and is not defined by short-term disruptions.”
One of the main reasons for not putting any sanction on them is that Bangladesh is one of the many countries where cricket is far more popular than any other sport. It has a 200 million audience who love to watch cricket and they are also one of the key members of the Asian Cricket Council and has played a major role in PCB’s withdrawal from boycotting the match against India on February 15.
What’s next for Bangladesh?
Despite boycotting the World Cup, the ICC treated Bangladesh well. BCB vice-president Faruque Ahmed told Cricbuzz on Tuesday,“ I think we are relieved (as no financial penalty was sanctioned) considering there were lots of things floating in the air after we refused to travel to India to take part in the World Cup.”
He also added, “ There were several sanctions and penalties that could have come our way, and those have been stopped. Additionally, since we couldn't play in the World Cup, there is a possibility of financial loss. They might not recover that directly in a financial sense, but perhaps we can host some events here - for example, the Women's World Cup.”
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Following the meeting in Lahore, BCB and ICC have come to an agreement that Bangladesh will get an opportunity to host an ICC event before the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2031, set to be co-hosted by India and Bangladesh.
