The International Cricket Council (ICC) has told Bangladesh to agree to play their matches at next month’s T20 World Cup in India or risk being kicked out of the tournament, reports said on Monday.

Bangladesh announced on Jan 4 that it would not play its T20 World Cup matches in India after its player Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League (IPL) team amid growing tensions between the two countries. Subsequently, Bangladesh “formally requested” the ICC to shift their games to Sri Lanka.

The T20 World Cup begins on February 7 with Bangladesh in England’s Group C and scheduled to play all of their group matches in Kolkata and Mumbai.

The BCB held talks in Dhaka at the weekend with ICC officials over the impasse, but no agreement was reached.

“During the discussions, the BCB reiterated its formal request to the ICC to relocate Bangladesh’s matches to Sri Lanka,” a BCB statement said.

ICC have not officially commented, but website Cricinfo and other Indian media reported on Monday that the deadline of Wednesday had been set for Dhaka to make a decision.

ICC sources have told AFP that Bangladesh could be replaced by Scotland, who are the highest-ranked team who did not qualify for the World Cup.

One suggestion was for Bangladesh to swap with Group B’s Ireland, whose matches are in Sri Lanka.

“Among other points, the possibility of moving Bangladesh to a different group as a means of facilitating the matter with minimum logistical adjustments was discussed,” said the BCB.

Pakistan will play all their matches in Colombo under an ICC agreement with India to play at neutral venues in global or regional tournaments.

The row erupted on January 3, when the IPL’s Kolkata Knight Riders were ordered by India’s cricket board to drop Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, sparking fury in Dhaka.

Political relations between India and Bangladesh soured after a mass uprising in Dhaka in 2024 toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a close ally of New Delhi.

India’s foreign ministry last month condemned what it called “unremitting hostility against minorities” in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, has accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence.