Pakistan back Bangladesh over India World Cup boycott

Move follows security concerns after Bangladeshi pacer’s IPL exclusion

KARACHI:

In a time of crisis, Pakistan extended its support to Bangladesh, assuring full backing for its decision not to travel to India for the upcoming World Cup  and even offered to take up the matter with the ICC if necessary.

According to details, the Indian cricket board recently dropped Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL under pressure from extremists. His franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, was also heavily criticized, with Shah Rukh even being labeled a “traitor.”

In response, Bangladesh took a principled stance, stating that if India could not provide security to one of its players, then it could certainly not ensure the safety of an entire team. Acting on government instructions, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced that the national team would not travel to India for the World Cup and also imposed a ban on the broadcast of the Indian Premier League (IPL) within the country.

According to high-level sources who spoke to Express Tribune , the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will fully support Bangladesh in this matter, calling their stance justified. The source added that due to India’s behavior, Pakistan had also previously refused to play there, leading to the adoption of a hybrid model for tournaments. Therefore, Bangladesh has every right to prioritize its players’ safety. If necessary, Pakistan is also prepared to raise the issue with the ICC.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has made it clear that regardless of any assurances from the Indian board or the ICC about top-level security, the team will not travel to India. The board pointed out that in the past, India’s refusal to tour Pakistan was accepted on security grounds  so the same reasoning should apply now. However, the limited time before the tournament remains a logistical challenge.

It should be noted that Bangladesh’s World Cup schedule included three matches in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. Recent Indian media reports also claimed that the ICC had begun discussions about possibly relocating those matches to Sri Lanka.