The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has suggested to the ICC that, if need be, the T20 World Cup groups should be altered and Bangladesh could play in Sri Lanka. The idea is that if Bangladesh and Ireland were swapped and the groups recalibrated, things could work out. Some people have suggested to me that this is a plausible idea and worth looking into. The truth, however, is that it is a very poor idea and one made with total disregard for the wishes of another member board.
Ireland were informed of the itinerary much earlier, and Irish fans have already made travel plans to Sri Lanka. It is not easy to make these plans, nor are they inexpensive. They take months of preparation, including booking flights, hotels and match tickets, as well as organising other aspects of the trip. For many of these fans, this could be a trip of a lifetime. Some save for months to make it happen, and travelling to another country to support your team is always a special occasion.
If the groups are changed, what happens to these fans? For the BCB, these fans clearly do not matter. When you are playing a high-stakes political game to please your domestic electorate, why would you bother about foreign fans? For the ICC, however, they will matter. Ireland is as much a stakeholder as the BCB, and every fan who has made plans deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. You cannot simply tell them to cancel everything at the last minute and lose thousands of dollars in the process.
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For those taking the calls at the BCB, it is not their money. They will not lose a dime, so how or why should they understand the plight of the fan? For them, it is a political decision — a way to show their domestic electorate that they did not budge even under ICC pressure. What they do not realise is that such playing to the gallery cannot help Bangladesh in the long run.
For the ICC, the decision should be simple. There is no way they can change things at the last minute and inconvenience teams and supporters. If they do, they must compensate every fan who stands to lose out. And for anyone who has suggested that the BCB’s idea is a fair one, they need to think more deeply — and think of the Irish for a change. Just because Ireland may not be seen as being as important as the BCB does not mean they can be pushed around. That is not how world sport functions, and that is not how a governing body should be expected to make decisions. The ICC will understand the ground realities better, and the truth is that time is fast running out for Bangladesh.
In all this posturing, the losers will be the cricketers. They deserve better and have earned the right to play in the World Cup. In this tussle between the BCB, the BCCI and, of course, the ICC — orchestrated by the political establishment in Dhaka — the players are the ones who stand to lose out.
For now, we need to wait and see what the final outcome is, and when it is announced.
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