Bangladesh's Cultural Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has questioned the neutrality of the International Cricket Council (ICC), accusing the governing body of double standards for refusing to shift Bangladesh's T20 World Cup matches out of India despite "real and severe" security threats, reports UNB.
In a social media post on Friday, Farooki sharply criticised the ICC's decision to keep the fixtures in India, contrasting it with how the body accommodates security concerns for India and Pakistan.
"If ICC truly wants to establish itself as a fair and neutral organization for all member nations, it must take Bangladesh's security concerns seriously and move the matches to Sri Lanka," he wrote, adding that "the burden of proof for neutrality now lies with the ICC."
Farooki mentioned recent violence to underscore the danger facing Bangladeshis in India. He pointed to a report by an Indian newspaper regarding the lynching of Manjur Laskar, a West Bengal-born Muslim man, who was beaten to death on suspicion of being Bangladeshi just yesterday.
"When you combine these incidents with the long-standing anti-Bangladesh hate campaign, which resulted in Mustafizur Rahman being removed from the IPL, it must be admitted that the security threat to Bangladeshi players in India is real and severe," Farooki stated.
Farooki questions ICC's neutrality, cites mob lynching as proof of 'severe risk' in India
FE Team | Published: January 23, 2026 22:53:20
Farooki questions ICC's neutrality, cites mob lynching as proof of 'severe risk' in India
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