New Delhi: Four months after Bangladesh were kicked out of the 2026 T20 World Cup, the debate over who made the decision to leave the tournament has died down. While former interim sports advisor Asif Nazrul claimed that the players and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) jointly chose not to participate, captain Latin Das has once again rejected this version of events.The controversy erupted after Bangladesh raised security concerns about playing in India amid regional tensions. The BCB asked the ICC to move its World Cup matches out of India, but the governing body found no security risk and refused to move the matches. With neither side holding back, Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland.Speaking to Bangladeshi media outlet Pratham Alu, Litton now revealed that the players were never involved in any real decision-making process. Referring to a meeting with government officials in January, he said the squad saw it as a formality rather than a consultation.“There was never any question. We went there just to participate and have tea. It was just a media stunt. So, we thought the same,” he said.According to Lytton, the players were asked for their views but made it clear that they wanted to play in the World Cup. However, security concerns in India were used by others to justify a decision already made.To challenge the security argument, Lytton pointed to Bangladesh’s previous visits to Pakistan, where security was far tighter.“They just asked us what do we want, now as players, what do you want? We certainly didn’t want to fight, we wanted to play cricket, but they questioned the safety in India. I said we played cricket in Pakistan, where they stood outside the room with guns, what could be more dangerous? But it was their call; we had no say as players,” he said.When reminded that Asif had blamed the players and the BCB for the boycott, Lytton replied with a smile: “Does he hold a position now? That’s why he said those things.”
