The Bangladesh government has formed a committee to investigate the previous administration’s decision that led to the national cricket team being excluded from the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after a dispute over playing venues in India.

The sports ministry said that additional secretary Dr AKM Wali Ullah will head the three-member panel, which also includes chief selector Habibul Bashar and former cricketer Faisal Dastagir. The committee has been tasked with reviewing all decisions related to Bangladesh’s failure to participate in the tournament and must submit its findings within 15 working days.

Bangladesh were removed from the tournament in February after a prolonged standoff involving the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the International Cricket Council (ICC), and Indian authorities.

The chain of events began on Jan. 3 when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reportedly instructed Kolkata Knight Riders to withdraw Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 squad, amid strained diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Within 24 hours, then sports adviser Asif Nazrul said on social media that Bangladesh should request the ICC to shift its T20 World Cup matches out of India due to safety concerns, suggesting Sri Lanka as an alternative host.

Nazrul said the BCB should inform the ICC that if a Bangladeshi player could not compete safely in India, the national team should not be expected to play there either. The BCB subsequently conveyed concerns to the ICC and formally requested relocation of its fixtures.

However, the ICC rejected the request, stating there were no credible security threats and that relocating fixtures would not be justified. A delegation later visited Bangladesh in an attempt to resolve the issue, but talks failed to produce an agreement.

On Jan. 24, after an ICC board meeting, the governing body dismissed Bangladesh’s proposal to shift matches and confirmed that Bangladesh would be replaced by Scotland in the tournament.

The controversy escalated domestically after Nazrul later said he had not been directly responsible for the withdrawal decision, shifting responsibility to cricket administrators and players.

Following the formation of a new government, sports minister Aminul Haque said Bangladesh aimed to restore sporting ties with India and called for a formal inquiry into how the situation was handled by the previous administration and the BCB.

The committee’s findings are expected to be submitted later this month and could influence future policy on international sporting participation and governance in Bangladesh cricket.