World T20: Bangladesh board divided over demand to shift matches

A day after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) requested the ICC (International Cricket Council) to shift the nation's T20 World Cup matches from India, its interim government has now issued a directive to stop IPL telecasts in the country in the wake of Mustafizur Rehman’s removal from the Kolkata Knight Riders team. The political brinkmanship from the caretaker government comes even as the ICC’s response to BCB's request is keenly awaited.

The official communiqué from Bangladesh's information and broadcasting ministry on Monday, when translated, says the ‘’decision to drop Mustafizur Rehman without any logical reason has hurt and angered’’ the people of Bangladesh. ‘’Under the circumstances, the government requests all parties concerned to suspend all programmes and telecast of IPL indefinitely,’’ said the advisory signed by Mohammed Firoze Khan, joint secretary of the department.

Indications of such a move were apparent from Saturday itself, when the BCCI directive on Mustafizur was made public as Bangladesh batting coach Mohammed Ashraful said there were chances that the IPL would lose out on "substantial viewership" in his country. While the IPL — which derives its financial strength from megabuck media-rights deals, will not be unduly bothered by such a directive — the BCB seems to be caught in the crossfire as the political relationship between the two neighbours goes downhill.

Well-placed sources confirm that the board has been divided over the radical move of asking the ICC to shift the matches from India. ‘’A virtual meeting of board officials had decided on following a more moderate line of writing to the BCCI and ICC about security guarantees to their players. However, their hand was forced by the government, which may result in a huge financial loss for BCB as India’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh later this year is now impossible,’’ the sources confided to National Herald.

The fallout of such a hard line against the mighty BCCI, according to a number of Bangladesh cricket insiders, could be far reaching. They feel it’s ‘’ill-timed’,’ coming soon after India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Bangladesh for Khaleda Zia's funeral, and can have far-reaching consequences when it comes to Bangladesh cricket economics.

The concern is valid, given that the powers that-be in India's neighbouring country have been unable to even ensure that their own star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan has enough security to set foot in his country for a year-and-a-half. India’s clout with other cricketing nations, they feel, may see other countries refusing to play in Bangladesh owing to a "threat perception".

Meanwhile, ticket sales for three Bangladesh matches at Kolkata's Eden Gardens have begun, with Liton Das & Co. set to open their campaign on 7 February. Their next two matches are on 9 and 14 February, with the final league game in Mumbai.

Bangla players in IPL

While there has been an unspoken ban in the IPL on players from Pakistan for many years now, several Bangladesh players have been part of the tournament. Mustafizur was the only one picked by a team for the upcoming season, and has been an IPL regular since 2016, with Shakib Al Hasan (KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad) the other prominent import from the country.

Abdur Razzak (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Mohammad Ashraful (Mumbai Indians), Mashrafe Mortaza (KKR), Tamim Iqbal (the now-defunct Pune Warriors India) and Liton Das (KKR) are others from Bangladesh who have been part of the IPL in previous years. The new season begins on 26 March.