The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s claim that India was unsafe for its cricketers began to unravel not because circumstances changed, but because Dhaka contradicted itself.
Days after the BCB refused to send its team to India for the T20 World Cup citing security concerns, Bangladesh quietly cleared one of its athletes to travel to New Delhi. Shooter Robiul Islam landed in the capital to compete in the Asian Shooting Championships — without controversy, without protest, and without any apparent fear.
Around the same time, visuals from Mumbai offered an even starker contrast. Members of the United States cricket team, in India for the T20 World Cup, were spotted casually eating golgappas on city streets, laughing with locals. Other international teams arrived, trained, travelled across cities and shared pictures from markets and eateries. None flagged security concerns.
Against this backdrop, Dhaka’s alarm over India’s safety began to look selective — limited only to cricket, and only to Bangladesh.
A CLAIM THAT DIDN’T HOLD
The BCB’s withdrawal from the T20 World Cup followed a series of escalations. After pacer Mustafizur Rahman was controversially released from his IPL contract, Bangladesh sought to shift its World Cup matches out of India. When the ICC rejected the request to move the games to Sri Lanka, the standoff hardened.
By January, BCB president Nazmul Hossain publicly claimed that India was unsafe for Bangladeshi players. Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul framed the issue as one of “national dignity.” The concerns were sweeping — covering players, support staff, officials and even journalists.
This was despite an ICC security assessment reportedly finding no specific threat to the Bangladeshi contingent.
Eventually, Bangladesh pulled out of the tournament and was replaced by Scotland.
THE FIRST CRACK
That narrative suffered its first major blow on January 31, when Robiul Islam arrived in New Delhi as part of an official Bangladeshi delegation. Accompanied by his coach, he checked into accommodation, trained, and prepared to compete — all without incident.
The Asian Shooting Championships, running from February 2 to 13 at Delhi’s Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, feature more than 300 athletes from over 20 countries.
If India was unsafe, the obvious question arose: unsafe for whom?
Dhaka offered no explanation.
THEN CAME THE GOLGAPPA MOMENT
The second contradiction was harder to ignore — and it went viral.
Videos of American cricketers enjoying golgappas at a Mumbai street stall spread rapidly on social media. There was no visible security presence, no panic, no diplomatic fuss. Just players soaking in the Indian street-food experience.
The USA squad includes players of Indian and Pakistani origin. Meanwhile, teams from the Netherlands, West Indies, Nepal, Afghanistan and Scotland moved freely across Indian cities, playing warm-up matches and interacting with fans.
None raised alarms.
A SELECTIVE SECURITY SCARE
Amid all this, the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s insistence that India was unsafe — but only for Bangladeshi cricketers — became impossible to miss. The pattern suggested that the concern was less about security and more about politics, posturing, or internal pressures linked to Bangladesh’s unstable political climate and its interim administration’s foreign alignments.
In the end, it wasn’t India or the ICC that punctured Dhaka’s claims.
It was reality.
The reality of Bangladeshi athletes competing in Delhi, international cricketers roaming Indian cities freely — and the quiet normalcy of tempting golgappas on a Mumbai street.