Just Weeks Before T20 World Cup 2026, Two Teams Hit a Major Roadblock

The T20 World Cup 2026 is about to begin in the next few weeks. While the tournament returns, two teams are facing issues when it comes to their travels for the games. Bangladesh is willing not to play in India, while USA players face issues with their visas, right before the tournament.

The T20 World Cup 2026 is about to commence soon, with the first match being on 7 February. Every team is now preparing themselves to travel to India and Sri Lanka for the tournament. But sometimes, the preparations could even come to a halt, causing some troubles to the teams right before the tournament.

This has been the case for both Bangladesh and the USA, right before the tournament. While one team remains eager not to play their matches in India, the other team is facing VISA issues. With the tournament being less than a month away, what changes could possibly the teams make to solve their travel issues.

1. USA Players Face VISA Rejections

Currently, all the teams are working to get the travel visas of their players ready for the T20 World Cup. While the process is going on smoothly for the other teams, some players from the USA are reportedly facing issues. This came to the limelight yesterday, when Ali Khan, a bowler from the USA, posted a story about it.

His story sparked some speculations that India is denying visas for players who are from the Pakistan origin. This story immediately went viral all over the internet. However, it should be noted that the Indian officials have not responded to the visas of players being rejected right before the tournament.

In the USA squad, there are four players from Pakistan origin, Ali Khan, Shayan Jahangir, Mohammad Mohsin and Ehsan Adil. They are currently present in Sri Lanka, and have their appointments scheduled at the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka on 13 January. Reports also say that the players were able to complete their paperwork right before the appointment.

The reports also said, “They had the appointment this morning at the Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka. They completed the paperwork as per what ICC had asked them to prior to the appointments. At the appointment, the players were informed that the visas could not be processed at this stage. Later in the evening, USA management received a call from the Indian Embassy indicating that some of the required information had been received, while additional inputs were still awaited from the Foreign Ministry. Once that process is complete, they will be contacted to proceed further.”

It should be noted that the visas have not been denied to these players. These applications are currently under review, and will go through some additional procedures, according to the reports. This is also similar to what happened to players such as Moeen Ali, Shoaib Bashir and Usman Khawaja, when they travelled to India for the matches.

2. Bangladesh Denies Travelling to India

While the VISA tensions being faced by the USA are expected to be sorted out soon, the tensions for Bangladesh seem to not end. India and Bangladesh already had their geopolitical tensions escalated over the last few months. And this has now led to tensions even in the game, which started when Mustafizur Rahman was released by KKR following an order by the BCCI.

Following this, Bangladesh wrote to the ICC for changing their matches from India to Sri Lanka. They cited security concerns for the same, and decided to not participate in the tournament if the matches are not shifted. According to reports, the ICC didn't see any security concern for the Bangladeshi team, and had active talks with them for the same.

The team is scheduled to have its games being played at Kolkata and Mumbai. But some reports also said that the ICC might change their venues to Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram. It also means that their games will be played in India only, with their request to shift the matches to Sri Lanka being indirectly denied by the ICC. Till now, the BCB remains on its stance to not participate in the tournament if their matches are not shifted to Sri Lanka.

A statement said, “During the discussions, the BCB reaffirmed its position regarding the decision not to travel to India, citing security concerns. The board also reiterated its request for the ICC to consider relocating Bangladesh’s matches outside India. While the ICC highlighted that the tournament itinerary has already been announced and requested the BCB to reconsider its stance, the board’s position remains unchanged. Both parties agreed that discussions will continue to explore possible solutions. The BCB remains committed to safeguarding the well-being of its players, officials and staff while engaging constructively with the ICC to address the matter.”