India, Jan. 25 -- Bangladesh Cricket Board director Abdur Razzak has insisted the board always wanted to send the team to the T20 World Cup 2026, but said the final call was taken out of the BCB's hands once the country's government refused to grant travel clearance for India.

With Scotland drafted in as Bangladesh's replacement, the former Bangladesh all-rounder framed the stand-off as an administrative reality rather than a cricketing preference, and underlined that overseas tours, in Bangladesh's system, cannot proceed without government approval.

"We have always said that we want to play, but this is the government's decision," the news agency quoted Razzak as saying. "So, we have to follow whatever the government tells us. And the ...