Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Cultural Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki has raised concerns about the neutrality of the International Cricket Council (ICC), accusing the organization of exhibiting double standards by not relocating Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches from India despite ‘real and severe’ security threats.

According to United News of Bangladesh, Farooki expressed his discontent through a social media post on Friday, criticizing the ICC’s decision to retain the fixtures in India. He contrasted this decision with how the ICC often accommodates security concerns for countries like India and Pakistan. Farooki emphasized that if the ICC aspires to be perceived as a fair and impartial entity for all its member nations, it must address Bangladesh’s security concerns by moving the matches to Sri Lanka. He asserted that the ICC now bears the burden of proving its neutrality.

Farooki highlighted recent violent incidents to underline the dangers faced by Bangladeshis in India. He referred to a report from an Indian newspaper about the lynching of Manjur Laskar, a Muslim man born in West Bengal, who was beaten to death on suspicion of being Bangladeshi. This incident, he argued, exemplifies the security threat to Bangladeshi players in India.

He further stated that the long-standing anti-Bangladesh sentiment, which led to the exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL), reinforces the severity of the security risk. Farooki also cited warnings from Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray concerning the Bangladesh-India match in Mumbai.

According to Farooki, even the ICC’s own internal and independent security assessments have identified a ‘moderate to high’ risk level for the Bangladesh team, especially if Mustafizur is part of the squad and players are donning national jerseys.

These concerns follow comments made by Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul, who, after meeting with cricketers, stated that the ICC had failed to address Bangladesh’s concerns adequately. Nazrul also pointed out that the Indian government had not made any efforts to reassure Bangladesh about security.

While the ICC has dismissed Mustafizur’s exclusion from the IPL as an ‘isolated’ incident, the Bangladesh government maintains that it is part of a broader hostility that necessitates relocating the venue for the matches.