'They Are Provoking Bangladesh': BCCI Shuts Down Pakistan's T20 World Cup Boycott Threat Gimmick

Bangladesh's defiance of boycotting the T20 World Cup in India didn't pay off, and the ICC announced Scotland as their replacement on Saturday. Following Bangladesh's ouster, Pakistan extended its support to BCB and accused ICC of double standards and favouring India.

BCCI Lambasted Pakistan's T20 World Cup Boycott Calls

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi kept insisting that Pakistan's participation in the T20 World Cup is uncertain and a decision will be taken by the Pakistan government. As per the initial agreement, India and Pakistan will play their T20 World Cup game in Sri Lanka.

Despite announcing their squad, Pakistan haven't confirmed their participation and BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla lambasted the PCB for playing games. In an interaction with ANI, he insisted that Pakistan is provoking Bangladesh for no reason.

“Pakistan is intervening in the matter without any reason and provoking Bangladesh… Everyone knows the brutality done by Pakistan on the Bangladeshis, and now they are trying to mislead them, which is completely wrong.

“We wanted Bangladesh to play and we also assured full security, but since they have made this decision, it is very difficult to change the entire schedule at the last moment. This is why Scotland was brought in."

Bangladesh Refused To Travel To India For T20 World Cup

Bangladesh refused to travel to India, citing security concerns after the BCCI directed KKR to release Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL squad. The BCB requested the ICC to relocate their games to Sri Lanka, but the world cricket's governing body refused to accept and had provided them a deadline to accept the existing schedule or face axe from the tournament.

Also Read: 'When You Have Players Like Rinku and Hardik Batting Down The Order...': Sunil Gavaskar Sings Praises Of India's Depth Ahead of T20 World Cup

Bangladesh remained adamant in their stance and without any further delay, ICC announced Scotland as a replacement. Scotland were the next highest ranked team in the ICC T20I rankings and was roped in after Bangladesh's exit.

Also Read: 'When You Have Players Like Rinku and Hardik Batting Down The Order...': Sunil Gavaskar Sings Praises Of India's Depth Ahead of T20 World Cup