A growing standoff between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) over venue security concerns in India has escalated the situation into a real threat of Bangladesh withdrawing from the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

What Happens if Bangladesh Withdraws from the T20 World Cup 2026? All Scenarios & ICC Rules Explained

The relations between India and Bangladesh have been turning sour due to attacks on Hindu minorities in the country. This led the BCCI to order Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to drop from the squad for the upcoming IPL 2026. And this call was taken as an insult by Bangladesh.

Following the Mustafizur Rahman episode and the safety concerns raised at the government level, Bangladesh has decided against travelling to India for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and has instead pushed for its matches to be played in Sri Lanka, the joint host of the mega event.

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Read Also: Bangladesh officially announce T20 World Cup 2026 boycott, refuse to travel to India over security fears

Currently, Bangladesh is slotted in Group C alongside West Indies, England, Italy, and Nepal. Three of those group matches are set for Eden Gardens in Kolkata, while the remaining game is scheduled at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

Bangladesh’s refusal to play in India has put the ICC under heavy pressure to find a solution that does not disrupt the entire event. However, the ICC has three possible ways to handle the situation, but the timing of the decision will play a huge role in what becomes realistic.

Scenario 1: The ICC’s Middle Ground

The best possible solution is that the ICC agree to Bangladesh’s demand and shift their group matches to Sri Lanka while keeping the rest of the tournament exactly as planned.

This would protect the 20-team format, and they would not need to make major venue adjustments. However, it can create a logistical nightmare for fans, broadcasters, and the schedules of other teams.

Scenario 2: Forfeits & A Broken Group

The second scenario comes into play if the ICC refuses to move the games and Bangladesh still chooses not to travel to India for the tournament. In that case, the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 could continue with Bangladesh’s matches “awarded” to their opponents.

According to the rules, West Indies, England, Italy, and Nepal would be named the winners and awarded the points even without playing, while Bangladesh’s campaign would be declared dead.

Scenario 2: The Sporting Nightmare

The third and most extreme outcome would be a complete withdrawal by Bangladesh. This move would leave the ICC in a difficult position, as the governing body would have to either find a replacement at short notice or allow the tournament to move forward with forfeited fixtures.

Replacing a team would maintain a competitive balance, but it becomes more complicated as the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is now just weeks away. If a replacement is needed, the process is far from straightforward, and it would be a headache for the governing body.

Read Also: BCB revokes Mustafizur Rahman’s NOC, rules pacer out of IPL FOREVER

T20 World Cup Shake-Up Looms as ICC Has No Ready Replacement

There is no fixed backup team for the T20 World Cup. If Bangladesh pulls out, the ICC will choose a replacement on its own, looking at recent form, how teams qualified, how quickly they can travel, and whether they can fit into the schedule smoothly.

Scotland are one of the strongest Associate sides, and they have even replaced a World Cup team in the past. In 2009, Scotland stepped in after Zimbabwe withdrew. But the 2026 qualification results make the decision more complicated.

In the Europe Regional Final, the Netherlands and Italy qualified, and Jersey finished above Scotland. If the ICC follows qualification results strictly instead of reputation, Jersey could be picked. Other teams egions could also be considered, but the ICC is likely to prefer a team that can join the tournament without causing travel or scheduling problems.

INDORE: The health administration in Indore on Sunday declared the waterborne disease outbreak in Bhagirathpura locality an epidemic, calling in specialised teams from the Central and state govts to contain the spread and identify the root cause of contamination that has claimed 10 lives so far in the area.Chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr Madhav Hasani said, “An epidemic is defined by reporting more cases of a disease than usual for a specific area. We are now treating the outbreak on that scale. These national teams are analysing our survey data to determine if the contamination originated from a single source or multiple points.”A high-level meeting was chaired by district collector Shivam Verma at the Smart City office on Sunday morning to coordinate with specialists from across India, who include ICMR-NIRBI (Kolkata) scientists Dr Pramit Ghosh and Dr Gautam Chaudhary from the National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections, Dr Anubhav from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), along with experts in community medicine and epidemiology from the State Surveillance Team (Bhopal).

The team from Kolkata collected random water samples using advanced scientific methods to pinpoint the exact bacterial strains involved.Verma said the Narmada water supply in the affected zone remained suspended and would be restored only after the experts certify the pipelines as fully decontaminated.Verma told the experts that, to manage the crisis at a micro-level, the entire Bhagirathpura area was divided into 32 beats. In each beat, dedicated teams worked with residents to ensure mandatory chlorination of all govt and private borewells. “Residents have been instructed to drain and clean basement storage tanks (hoj), followed by professional chlorination before any reuse,” he said.Addressing public anxiety regarding secondary health complications, Verma said, “I want to clarify that no cases of GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) were found in the city,” dismissing rumours of the neurological disorder being linked to the current outbreak.

ICMR, NCDC Probe Source As Narmada Supply Suspended

Verma said the administration continued to supply clean drinking water via tankers, while health workers distributed liquid chlorine drops door-to-door.He said multi-departmental teams conducted house-to-house surveys, with random sampling extended to other areas of the city where complaints were received.“Affected patients are receiving free treatment, including necessary injections and medications, at various hospitals under the supervision of specialists called in from neighbouring districts,” he said.

The United States will not take a day-to-day role in governing Venezuela, secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Sunday, clarifying President Donald Trump’s earlier comments that US would “run” the country following the capture of Nicolás Maduro.Rubio said the US would continue to enforce an existing “oil quarantine” on sanctioned Venezuelan tankers and use that leverage to press for policy changes, reports the Associated Press. The comments appeared intended to reassure that the US would not become directly involved in governing Venezuela.“They will continue enforcing the oil blockade, which was already in place, and use it to press for policy changes in Venezuela,” Rubio said.Trump had earlier said that the US would “run” Venezuela until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could be ensured. He said that American oil companies would fix Venezuela’s “badly broken infrastructure” and start generating income for the country.The comments followed an intense US operation on Saturday that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Maduro and Flores were removed from Caracas by US forces, flown aboard the USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean, and later transported to New York’s Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.The pair face charges in the Southern District of New York, including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, cocaine importation, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess such weapons.Maduro has consistently denied being a cartel leader and accused the US of using its “war on drugs” as an excuse to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves, which amount to around 303 billion barrels of crude, nearly 20 per cent of the world’s total, according to the US Energy Information Administration.Despite Trump’s claims of running the country, the administration has still not decided on what form US management or any kind of regime change would take. “We’re going to be running it with a group, and we’re going to make sure it’s run properly,” he said.Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has since been sworn in as interim president by the Venezuelan Supreme Court and said she would do “whatever the US asks.” However, Rodríguez also called Maduro the “only one president in Venezuela” on state television.The ‘Operation Absolute Resolve’ involved explosions around Caracas and targeted strikes on military bases. US aircraft flew over the city for more than two hours as special forces entered Maduro’s safe house to remove him.

PANAJI: Around 30,000 Goans have surrendered their Indian passports in the last decade to acquire foreign nationality, including of Portugal, Goa’s former colonial ruler.Now, their parents are facing scrutiny from EC under SIR of the electoral rolls, as they too have registered their birth in Portugal.If a child is born after the Liberation of Goa on Dec 19, 1961, and wants Portuguese nationality, parents, if born before 1961, must register birth and marriage in Portugal to allow their children to register their birth there and get a Portuguese passport.Since 2014, according to data submitted to EC for scrutiny under SIR, 29,831 Goans have surrendered their Indian passports.“We will verify all those who acquired Portuguese and other foreign passports, and whose names still feature on electoral rolls. After that, we will seek advice from the law department on those who registered their birth in Portugal and did not obtain a Portuguese passport, and take a call,” chief electoral officer Sanjay Goel told TOI. Goel said they got data from passport office and home department on those who acquired foreign nationalities.“Over 8,000 names of those who surrendered their Indian passports and acquired foreign nationality, including Portuguese, in last five years were submitted to EC,” Regional Passport Office Goa head Nijo Varghese said. Several of those who have registered their births in Portugal, including politicians, police personnel and bureaucrats, also obtained a Portuguese passport or ID card, which were seen as tickets to working in Europe.In 2014, Pramod Sawant, currently Goa CM, had urged Union govt to grant amnesty to Goans to cancel Portuguese identity cards, so they could retain Indian citizenship. “The sole intention of these people was to secure a chance of getting their children Portuguese passports and benefits that come with it,” he said.Goel said such names would be verified and they would be issued suo motu notices. He said if they did not fill in enumeration forms and their names did not feature in the draft rolls published Dec 16, they would not be issued notice.

Desert Vipers defeated MI Emirates by 46 runs to win ILT20 season 4 (ILT20)

Dubai: Third time’s a charm. Third time lucky. These are two popular sayings in the English language. It’s as if the first two attempts were stumbling blocks, they were launchpads for something that was inevitable. For Desert Vipers, that was the ILT20 title on Sunday at the Dubai Cricket Stadium. Desert Vipers defeated MI Emirates (MIE) by 46 runs in a one-sided final in Dubai. They had been here, under the Ring of Fire, twice and tasted defeated both times.

This time, it felt different. Desert Vipers were cut above the rest all season. The Vipers scarcely put a foot wrong, losing just two of their ten matches. Vipers asserted their dominance over MI Emirates twice in in the knockouts, cruising to a 45-run win in Qualifier 1 before outclassing them yet again in the final.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!When they met MIE once again in the final, they were contesting against not just a team that has triumphed in every T20 league across the world, they were facing a side that was led by a perennial champion in the form of Kieron Pollard.The early signs were that things would go away from the Vipers’ grasp again.

Desert Vipers team celebrate after winning the title (ILT20)

Toss came out in favour of MI Emirates and they chose to field on a surface that has seen the team batting second triumph more often than the first.Andries Gous, the wicketkeeper-batter, who had scored an unbeaten 120 against MIE in the Qualifier, was out with a calf injury.Teams had on an average scored 154.66 runs when batting first at this venue this season. Dubai Capitals had produced the biggest total – 186 against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders – and gone on to win by 83 runs.Clearly, score big and put things beyond MIE would have been the mantra for the Sam Curran-led Desert Vipers.

Sam Curran of Desert Vipers raises his bat after scoring a fifty during the final of the DP World International League T20 between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 4 January 2026. (ILT20)

Three boundaries in four balls in the third over showed that intent from Fakhar Zaman and Jason Roy in the third over. But a few balls later, both perished in the gap of four balls, falling to Fazalhaq Farooqi, and it brought out England’s Sam Curran to the middle.Curran, who had seen the team fall short last season, had picked up the leadership duties from Lockie Ferguson. Pollard spoke about Curran’s leadership in the chat before the final.“I was reading somewhere about Sam’s leadership, and that he is unbeaten as captain,” Pollard said. “Everything is leaning in his favour, which is a good thing – not just for Sam, but for future reference.”

Sam Curran plays a shot in the final. (ILT20)

Individually, Curran had been a top performer for his side. Having scored 323 runs from 11 matches, he needed to deliver in this pressure moment, with two wickets falling in quick succession.He took his time to get going. In the first five balls, he failed to get off the mark. And once he did, he blazed four consecutive boundaries. And then there was another lull. He went 13 balls without hitting a boundary, including six dot balls. Then came another four. In the next spell of 21 balls, he hit further three boundaries. Evidently, the objective was to bide time on the low-scoring track.Romario Shepherd’s errant deliveries – one full and wide, the other short on middle and off – allowed Curran to relax his arms and tonk two maximums.By the end of it all, Curran remained unbeaten on 74 from 51 balls – it wasn’t a gun blazing knock by any stretch of the imagination but it had done the job for the team. From reeling at 36 for 2 in the fourth over, they had reached 182m for 4, helped in part by MIE bowling 11 wides or nearly two more overs.

Desert Vipers players celebrates the wicket of Tom Banton of MI Emirates during the final of the DP World International League T20 between Desert Vipers and MI Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 4 January 2026. (ILT20)

When he got the ball, Curran was smashed for 24 runs from two overs but his teammates had done the job for him. David Payne took 3 for 42, Naseem Shah picked 3 for 18 and Usman Tariq’s tricky bowling action and variety fetched him 2 for 20.Maybe this third time lucky, third time’s the charm was meant to be. MIE were chasing on the night for a sixth match in a row and had won four times. Both of the two defeats during this run came against Vipers.

Curran, deservedly, will take in the applause. As the last wicket fell, he raised his hands, clapped multiple times before embracing his team as the Player of the Match, winner of the Green Belt and Red Belt for second year running.Brief Scores Desert Vipers: 182 for 4 in 20 overs (Sam Curran 74 not out, Jason Holder 41; Fazallaq Farooqi 2/33) MI Emirates: 136 all out in 18.3 overs (Shakib Al Hasan 36; Naseem Shah 3/18, David Payne 3/42)

NEW DELHI: As it takes a determined step to agitate for MGNREGA with the successful farm laws stir as motivation, Congress views the agitation as a long-term sensitisation programme than the one which can radically change the status of the scheme disbanded by Modi govt. The reason is that the nature of the stakeholder in the rural job scheme is the poor working class in contrast to the big farmers involved in the campaign against farm laws.As MGNREGA workers are fighting for daily survival, it is conceded they cannot be mobilised for a long struggle over a future concern. This is in stark contrast to farm laws agitation which witnessed farmers from across the north gather for a prolonged dharna, which finally forced Centre to roll back three Acts. The marked difference in social clout of the two groups is what seems to complicate the struggle which otherwise, many feel, was a straight battle.Interestingly, the other agitation, which forced Modi govt to backtrack in its early days in power, was against “weakening” of land acquisition law, led by Rahul Gandhi. But that too involved farmers who were concerned about easing of acquisition norms.In contrast, MGNREGA changes may actually put farmers against labourers, and the protest, because of the policy of pausing G RAM G Act for two months during the agricultural season. Thus, it is felt, the agitation for MGNREGA is more a long-term campaign, which would seek to sensitise the poor workers and prepare them for the time when “they feel the pinch” of the new G RAM G Act.The difference between past successful agitations and proposed MGNREGA campaign was discussed in Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting last week that considered the issue.Sources said CWC acknowledged the battle will be prolonged, as wage earners cannot be called away from work to join a struggle. Instead, political activists will have to visit work sites and villages to sensitise the groups that, according to Congress, will be hurt by the changes from the job guarantee scheme brought in the new law – like budget, pause during agriculture season, panchayat-level planning. This will also require coordination with voluntary organisations involved in the job guarantee scheme.

Bought Gold in Dubai Last Year? Here’s How Much You Made as Prices Soared 60%

Dubai’s gold market delivered a giant surprise in 2025, marking one of the most dramatic rallies in recent history. What started as a modest year for bullion turned into a breakout performance, with the price of 24-carat gold climbing by more than Dh200 per gram and delivering massive gains for investors, collectors and everyday residents alike.

Gold’s remarkable rally in 2025

According to market data, the price of 24K gold opened the year at Dh318 per gram on January 1, 2025 and finished the year at Dh520 per gram on December 31, a jump of roughly 63.5 percent. This means that anyone holding physical gold throughout the year saw the value of their holdings rise by more than Dh200 per gram. The 22-carat variant also saw remarkable gains, climbing from about Dh294.50 to Dh481.50 per gram, roughly a Dh187 increase, while even 21K gold rose around Dh176.75 per gram over the same period. By contrast, the newly introduced 14K gold, launched in the UAE on November 29, posted a more modest 2.3 percent gain, reflecting its lighter weight and broader affordability for everyday wear.

Why gold took off

Several economic forces came together in 2025 to fuel this dramatic upswing. Given the safe-haven demand, global investors and central banks including those in the Gulf, shifted capital into gold as a hedge against market uncertainty and geopolitical risk, a pattern seen throughout 2025. According to reports, gold’s rally in 2025 was the strongest annual performance since the late 1970s, with prices soaring nearly 70 percent globally.

Dubai Gold Shock: 24K Prices Jump Over Dh200 Per Gram in One Year. Are You Sitting on a Fortune?

Interest rate dynamics with expectations of lower US Federal Reserve interest rates and the appeal of non-yielding assets helped lift gold’s allure. Lower real yields often make gold more attractive relative to bonds and other financial instruments. The Central Bank of the UAE increased its gold holdings significantly in 2025, growing reserves by about 26 percent to nearly $7.9 billion as global economic uncertainty persisted, a historic move that underscored gold’s strategic value. These factors combined to create a strong backdrop for prices, pushing bullion sharply higher even as other asset classes posted uneven returns.

Impact on Dubai and the Gulf region

For residents and investors in Dubai, long accustomed to the Gold Souk’s bustling trade and precious-metal culture, the surge translated into real-world gains. Retail buyers saw both jewellery and bullion values climb, lifting the wealth of long-term holders. With 24K gold prices consistently near or above Dh520 per gram in late December and into early 2026, bullion became a focal point for investment as much as adornment. At the same time, short-term volatility such as a near Dh18 drop in just one day toward the end of the year due to profit-booking in global markets, reflected how active trading and profit-taking can influence local UAE prices even amid a strong overall rally. Jewellers and bullion dealers across Dubai’s famous Gold Souk and regional markets noted the heightened interest, particularly from expatriate buyers and Middle Eastern investors seeking to protect wealth in an uncertain macroeconomic environment. The UAE’s competitive pricing environment, where making charges and taxes are relatively low, further incentivises local and international buyers alike.

Global gold context: Safe haven, surging demand

Dubai’s gold price story fits into a broader global trend. Precious metals surged worldwide in 2025 as investors raced toward safe havens amid geopolitical unrest and economic concerns. Gold topped record levels over $4,300 per ounce internationally, one of the metal’s best annual performances in decades.

Gold Made Dubai Richer in 2025: Why Prices Exploded and What It Means for 2026

Analysts and major institutions such as Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs forecast continued strength through 2026 and beyond, with projections ranging from $4,000 to over $4,900 per ounce by year-end, supported by sustained central bank buying and geopolitical tension. This global backdrop helped lift sentiment in Dubai and the broader Gulf, where gold remains culturally and economically significant.

What’s ahead for gold in 2026?

After a spectacular run in 2025, markets are closely watching how 2026 unfolds. Early data suggests that gold prices continued to hold near high levels in early January 2026, even after slight profit-taking in global markets. Forecasts by international analysts suggest continued upside potential if geopolitical risks and safe-haven demand remain strong. For Gulf investors, this means that gold remains a key hedge and wealth preserver, not just a jewellery purchase.

Bottom line: A golden year that redefined markets

Dubai’s gold surge in 2025, with 24K climbing more than 60 percent, marked a rare standout year for precious metals. From record price gains to heightened global demand and strong central bank involvement, gold’s rally reflected broader economic and geopolitical forces at play. As 2026 begins, many investors and analysts see bullion continuing to play a central role as a store of value, especially in a world marked by uncertainty and shifting financial landscapes.