The International Cricket Council (ICC) has refused to grant accreditation to Bangladeshi journalists for coverage of the T20 World Cup.
According to Bangladeshi media, no journalist from Bangladesh has been approved to cover the tournament in either Sri Lanka or India. In several cases, journalists who had initially received confirmation emails later had their approval withdrawn.
One journalist said they received an email on the 20th confirming their credentials, but later received another message informing them that the request had been rejected.
A senior Bangladeshi journalist said the ICC normally allows journalists from associate member nations to cover tournaments even if their national team is not participating.
Sports journalists’ organizations in Bangladesh said they would soon announce their next course of action, adding that the ICC has not provided any explanation for denying access to Bangladeshi media.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Media Committee Chairman Amzad Hossain confirmed the development, saying that between 130 and 150 Bangladeshi journalists had applied for permission to cover the event.
“As far as I know, all applications from Bangladeshi journalists have been rejected,” he said.
The ICC has yet to issue an official statement on the matter, which has further intensified the controversy.
However, sources said the ICC’s media department has requested a list of journalists interested in covering the tournament from the journalists’ representative body.
Sources also said the review process will be restarted. While Bangladeshi journalists had initially applied to cover all matches in India, they are expected to receive approval to cover matches scheduled in Sri Lanka.
