Nasser Hussain has backed Pakistan and Bangladesh amid the current controversy ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Bangladesh was excluded from the World Cup after declining to play their matches in India. This decision led the ICC to include Scotland as a replacement. The issue arose when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from the squad.
In response, the Bangladeshi government expressed anger and requested the ICC to move its games to Sri Lanka, but this demand was denied. The Pakistan Cricket Board also supported Bangladesh, leading their government to withdraw from the game against India on February 15 in Colombo.
In an interview with Michael Atherton, Hussain criticized the BCCI for politicizing sports.
“I admire Bangladesh for standing firm. They defended their player. I also support Pakistan. This is political. It’s good that Pakistan is siding with Bangladesh. Someone needs to say that enough is enough; cricket matters more,” he said on SKY Sports.
“Pakistan has the potential to impact the ICC or even India financially based on the economics surrounding the India-Pakistan matches,” he added.
Hussain referenced the controversy from the Asia Cup 2025, where Indian players did not shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts and refused to collect the trophy from PCB and ACC head Mohsin Naqvi.
“Rahman was part of Kolkata in the IPL, and the BCCI announced he could not participate due to tensions between India and Bangladesh, which escalated the situation,” he noted.
Hussain questioned how the ICC would have responded if India had chosen not to play in a specific country.
“I feel for the ICC since this was a last-minute decision. However, what would the ICC have done if India had refused to play in a tournament at the last minute? Would they have enforced the rules and excluded India?” he asked.
“Bangladesh should be treated equally to Pakistan and India. Indian supporters may argue that the BCCI has financial power, but with power comes accountability. If Pakistan and Bangladesh are continually treated poorly, their cricket will suffer, and competitive matches between these nations will decline.”
