'It's not fair for a team to just put all the teams under pressure and under inconvenience. It's (T20 World Cup) such a big tournament, and you should have thought of this before.'
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday found itself in a tricky position after the International Cricket Council (ICC) turned down the board's request to move Bangladesh's matches in the upcoming T20 World Cup out of India to Sri Lanka.
The ICC gave the BCB twenty-four hours to take a final call on their participation in the marquee event, beginning on February 7.
If Bangladesh pull out, Scotland might to step in as their replacement in Group C as per current rankings.
Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan backed the ICC's decision to keep Bangladesh's T20 World Cup matches in India, hailing it as the 'right call'.
He also took a dig at Bangladesh, saying that cricket won't suffer if they don't participate, as they're not strong contenders to win the tournament.
Wassan believes Bangladesh is just "sulking" over Muztafizur Rahman's removal by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from their IPL 2026 squad.
KKR removed the left-arm pacer from their roster in response to a directive from the BCCI following political backlash in India over attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. The episode led to a diplomatic row, with Bangladesh subsequently banning IPL broadcasts and threatening to boycott their T20 World Cup matches in India.
"Well done ICC because I was expecting this, and the right decision has been made. And well done BCCI also because it's not fair for a team to just put all the teams under pressure and under inconvenience. It's (T20 World Cup) such a big tournament, and you should have thought of this before. You're sulking that one of the players was taken off from the IPL, and you've taken this step. So now, if they don't come as is, I don't think cricket will be affected. You know we can have Scotland. Bangladesh are not rated to win any of the tournaments," Wassan said.
Bangladesh are scheduled to kick off their campaign on February 7 against two-time champions West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The Litton Das-led side will then face Italy on February 9 at the same venue before meeting England in Kolkata again.
Bangladesh are then scheduled to travel to Mumbai to play Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium.
© 2026