Probe Report Blames Asif Nazrul for World Cup Withdrawal

Former Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul was responsible for Bangladesh’s decision not to participate in the 2026 T20 World Cup, according to a report by a government-appointed investigation committee.

The 22-page report was released on Tuesday at a press conference held at the National Sports Council. The three-member committee was formed in March to investigate why Bangladesh did not take part in the tournament.

The committee was headed by Dr A K M Oli Ullah, additional secretary of the Administration Wing of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Its other members were Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Faisal Dastagir and former national captain and current chief selector Habibul Bashar.

Speaking at the press conference, Dastagir said the committee had reviewed relevant information, spoken to people involved and examined media reports before reaching its conclusion.

“Based on what emerged from the investigation and discussions with the relevant people, the person responsible for Bangladesh not travelling to the World Cup was then Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul,” Dastagir said. “The government at the time and he are responsible.”

He added that Bangladesh should have participated in the World Cup.

The report said the committee interviewed 12 people and included summaries of their statements. Those interviewed included Bangladesh’s T20 captain Litton Das and Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto.

From the cricket administration, the committee spoke to former national captain and current Bangladesh Cricket Board president Tamim Iqbal Khan, former BCB general secretary and former Asian Cricket Council secretary-general Syed Ashraful Haque, BCB Chief Executive Officer Nizam Uddin Chowdhury, national team coach and then senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin, and former BCB director and head of the cricket operations department Nazmul Abedin.

The committee also interviewed Youth and Sports Secretary Mohammad Mahbub-ul-Alam.

Representatives of the sports media interviewed by the committee included Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association President Arifur Rahman Babu, its general secretary S M Suman, Bangladesh Sports Press Association President Redwanuzzaman and its general secretary Sudipto Ahmed.

However, the committee said it had been unable to obtain responses from the two people at the centre of the controversy—former sports adviser Asif Nazrul and then BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul—despite repeated attempts to contact them.

Bangladesh withdrew from the 2026 T20 World Cup after raising security concerns about playing its matches in India. The Bangladesh Cricket Board had requested that the team’s matches be moved to Sri Lanka or another neutral venue, but the International Cricket Council rejected the request and retained the tournament schedule.

After Bangladesh declined to travel to India, the ICC replaced the team with Scotland.

The controversy intensified after Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was released by Kolkata Knight Riders from the Indian Premier League amid pressure from extremist groups in India. Bangladesh subsequently raised concerns about the safety of its players, coaches, officials and journalists travelling to India.

The investigation committee’s report concluded that the decision not to participate was taken under the direction of the then government, with Asif Nazrul identified as the principal person responsible.