'Hoping for a miracle from ICC, who doesn't want to play the World Cup?' - BCB President
Aminul Islam, the Bangladesh Cricket Board president, said on Wednesday that they can still take part in the upcoming ICC Twenty20 World Cup if the governing body of the sport change their mind and relocate Bangladesh's games out of India.
The announcement came hours after @L0$ to relocate their venues after all but two members voted against Bangladesh's request.
Even a last-minute expression of solidarity from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has not cut any ice with the International Cricket Council (ICC). The ICC board issued a final deadline - effectively an ultimatum - to Bangladesh, which has been intransigent in their demand for relocation of their games.
The BCB has 24 hours to decide whether they will travel to India for the February 7-March 8 World Cup, failing which the ICC will replace them with another country.
BCB will be required to go back to their government, who are @L1$ as far as taking part in the showpiece event in India is concerned. They will take a final call over the next few hours. Scotland are tipped to replace Bangladesh in Group C should they fail to comply with the deadline.
"I am hoping for a miracle from the ICC. Who doesn't want to play the World Cup?," Aminul said. "We can't really comment after the ICC's press release. The meeting went on for an hour and a half. We explained to the ICC board the reasons for our decision before the voting began. We didn't want to go into voting. We stepped back," he said.
"The Bangladesh players want to play the World Cup. The Bangladesh government wants Bangladesh to play the World Cup. But we don't think India is safe for our players," he said. "We asked them to shift the matches to Sri Lanka. We said that we can switch with Ireland or Zimbabwe. It would have been the easiest way. But Sri Lanka said that we don't want a new team in our group. After the vote, I told them that I want one last chance to tell my government. They said it's a valid point, and gave me 24 or 48 hours to get back to them.
"I don't want to put pressure on the government. We know that India is not secure for us. We remain in the stance that we want to play in Sri Lanka. I know the ICC denied us, but we will talk to the government one more time. I will inform the government's feedback to the ICC," he said. "A government doesn't only consider the players, but they consider all, when it takes a decision."
Another BCB official insisted that ICC could have a change of heart while adding that they have exchanged at least 15-20 emails and had three calls with their counterpart to resolve the issue. Over the weekend, the BCB also held talks with ICC officials in Dhaka over the impasse, but no agreement was reached as the BCB @L2$ after the BCCI directed IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from their squad amid prevailing political tensions between the two countries.
Bangladesh @L3$, but Ireland insisted they @L4$.
