India, Feb. 11 -- In a dramatic reversal weeks after Bangladesh's withdrawal from the T20 World Cup in India, the country's sports advisor Asif Nazrul has claimed that the decision not to participate in the ICC event was taken by the players and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), not by the government. Bangladesh were subsequently replaced by Scotland in the tournament line-up.

Bangladesh had earlier pulled out of the World Cup amid rising political tensions in the region, triggered by the BCCI's decision to release pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for IPL 2026. The BCB had written to the ICC requesting that their matches be shifted to Sri Lanka, but the governing body rejected the proposal.

After weeks of n...