Bangladesh has pushed back “unreasonable and unrealistic pressure” from the International Cricket Council (ICC) over playing T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India even as the global body set a final deadline for a decision.

Asif Nazrul, Bangladesh’s Youth and Sports Adviser, made it clear on Tuesday that Dhaka would not be coerced into accepting conditions it considers unsafe, drawing parallels with past instances where the ICC had shifted venues after India declined to travel to Pakistan.

“We can’t be forced to play in India with unreasonable and unrealistic pressure,” Nazrul said at a news conference.

“I haven’t heard formally that they will exclude us and take Scotland instead. But if the ICC bows to the BCCI and puts pressure on us, if they put unrealistic demands, we will not accept them.”

Nazrul underlined that Bangladesh’s demand for a venue change was based on “logical reasons” and insisted that the ICC could not apply double standards.

“There have been examples where India refused to travel to Pakistan and the ICC changed the venue. We have asked for a venue change for logical reasons. They can’t force us to play in India by exerting undue pressure,” he said.

The remarks came a day after the ICC asked the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to communicate by Wednesday its final decision on participating in the tournament in India.

Bangladesh had missed an earlier deadline, prompting discussions at the ICC level, but the governing body is now seeking clarity with barely a fortnight to go before the competition.

Talks between the BCB and an ICC representative in Dhaka had earlier collapsed due to what was called an “adamant attitude” from the Bangladesh board, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.

The ICC has also rejected Bangladesh’s proposal to be moved to Group B and swap places with Ireland so that they could play their matches in Sri Lanka.

If Bangladesh refuse to send their team to India, the ICC is expected to look for a replacement, with Scotland the most likely option based on rankings.

The BCB has maintained that discussions are ongoing. In a statement issued on Saturday, the board had said it would “continue engaging in constructive dialogue on this matter”, even though the stalemate appears close to a breaking point.

An independent security assessment shared with the BCB’s security unit categorised risks at Indian venues as “low to moderate” in some cases and “low to nil” in others.

The ICC considers this a standard global assessment and insufficient grounds to relocate matches.

The roots of Bangladesh’s concerns lie partly in recent developments involving Mustafizur Rahman.

The Bangladesh pacer was released by Kolkata Knight Riders following a directive from the BCCI that cited “recent developments” in the country, a move that the BCB interpreted as a red flag.