Bangladesh captain says off-field controversies ahead of major tournaments take a mental toll on players amid doubts over World Cup participation

Najmul Hossain Shanto has said that Bangladesh cricketers are often forced to put up an act to deal with controversies that surface before and during major tournaments, expressing frustration over the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the team’s participation in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Speaking on Friday, Shanto noted that Bangladesh have yet to produce a strong World Cup campaign and pointed out that disruptive incidents seem to occur ahead of almost every global event, affecting the players’ mindset and preparation.

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Shanto, who captained Bangladesh at the previous T20 World Cup, admitted that while players are expected to remain professional, off-field issues do have an impact. He said cricketers often behave as if nothing affects them, even though such situations make it difficult to focus fully on performance. According to Shanto, it would be far better if these distractions did not exist, but players continue to push themselves to set everything aside and perform for the team despite the circumstances.

With less than a month to go before the first ball of the T20 World Cup, a final decision on Bangladesh’s participation has still not been taken. The controversy intensified after the BCCI instructed Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad despite the pacer being signed for INR 9.2 crore. While the BCCI did not officially cite security concerns, religious and political leaders reportedly threatened KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan over Mustafizur’s signing amid strained political relations between India and Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh government responded by banning the broadcast of IPL 2026 in the country, and the Bangladesh Cricket Board informed the ICC that the national team would prefer to play their World Cup matches in Sri Lanka rather than travel to India, citing security concerns. Although Shanto is not part of Bangladesh’s current T20 setup, he led the side at the previous T20 World Cup and was also part of the ODI World Cup campaign in India in 2023, lending weight to his concerns about how recurring off-field issues continue to impact the team at major ICC tournaments.