Bangladesh names 15-member squad for T20 WC hours after seeking shifting of matches from India

Dhaka: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday announced a 15-member squad with Litton Das as captain for the T20 World Cup next month, hours after it was instructed by the country's sports ministry to seek shifting of the team's league games from India to Sri Lanka.

The BCB has been told by its sports ministry to seek shifting of the country's T20 World Cup league games from India to Sri Lanka as there are "concerns about players' safety" following Mustafizur Rahman's ouster from the IPL on BCCI instructions.

Bangladesh's four league games are -- against West Indies (February 7), Italy (February 9), England (February 14) in Kolkata followed by their last match against Nepal (February 17) in Mumbai.

The T20 showpiece is to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

Das stayed as captain while pacer Taskin Ahmed returned to the side after missing the recent Ireland series. Ahmed will team up with Rahman, who was also expectedly named in the squad, in the pace department.

"The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced the national squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March," the BCB said on 'X'.

Following BCCI's diktat, Shah Rukh Khan co-owned IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday released Rahman, who was bought for Rs 9.20 crore after a bidding war at last month's auctions in Abu Dhabi.

That led to Bangladesh government advisor Asif Nazrul instructing the BCB to ask the Jay Shah-led ICC to shift Bangladesh's four league games to Sri Lanka.

A BCCI source, however, insisted that the shift is next to impossible with just a month left for the tournament.

Although the BCCI did not explicitly cite the current political situation in Bangladesh for its decision to seek Rahman's release, it did say that the move was triggered by what's been happening all around.

Bangladesh squad:

Litton Das (Captain), Mohammed Saif Hassan (Vice Captain), Tanzid Hasan, Mohammad Parvez Hossain Emon, Tawhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Qazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Md Shaifuddin, Shoriful Islam.