Speaking on AB de Villiers’ The 360 Show, the legendary batter reacted to the International Cricket Council’s decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotland in the 2026 T20 World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka.
Asked about Bangladesh’s absence from the tournament, de Villiers chose not to take sides but expressed disappointment over how the situation unfolded.
“I don’t want to be biased with this one. I’m going to be on the fence. It’s politics and it’s personal, and I don’t have enough information. I’m not well enough educated about this point to make comments and to make statements about it. What I do know is it’s sad and it should never get to a point where teams have to withdraw themselves from tournaments.”
The ICC announced on Saturday that Bangladesh would no longer participate in the World Cup after the Bangladesh Cricket Board declined to play its scheduled matches in India, citing security concerns.
The ICC rejected BCB’s request to shift matches to Sri Lanka, stating that no credible security threat existed and that altering the schedule so close to the tournament was not feasible.
De Villiers said such situations reflect poorly on the sport.
“I really feel it’s sad and it’s a bad look and a bad take on our sport, and it should never get to that. Whoever is in control, whoever can make the decisions, just sort it out. I hate it when politics gets so involved in cricket that it gets to a point like this — really, really sad.”
Bangladesh’s withdrawal has sparked widespread debate across the cricketing world, with several former players and analysts questioning the ICC’s consistency in handling security-related concerns involving different member nations.
