It's hard to save cricket from politics - Jonty Rhodes says about Bangladesh

Commenting on Bangladesh's forced withdrawal from the 2026 T20 World Cup Cricket tournament, South African cricket star Jonty Rhodes stated that politics and sports cannot be separated. This discussion arose after the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to include Scotland in the tournament instead of Bangladesh, following the Bangladesh Cricket Board's refusal to tour India.

Bangladesh had expressed its unwillingness to play all its matches scheduled to be held in India during the tournament, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, citing security reasons. Bangladesh's request to shift all its matches to Sri Lanka was rejected by the International Cricket Council after independent security assessments confirmed that there was no threat to playing in India.

Participating in a promotional event, Rhodes stated that even though administrators try to remove politics from sports, it is not always successful, and he has experienced how sports sanctions imposed during the apartheid era in South Africa led to political change in that country. He further emphasized that due to the unique nature of the T20 cricket format, any team can challenge strong teams, and a single player can change the fate of an entire match within ten minutes.

Before reaching this decision, the International Cricket Council had held discussions with the Bangladesh Cricket Board for over three weeks and had clarified all facts regarding security arrangements in India. However, as Bangladesh did not change its decision within the stipulated timeframe, Scotland, which was at the top of the rankings, got the opportunity to participate in the tournament.