Bangladeshi Journalists Shut Out of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Coverage | Reports

Bangladeshi journalists have expressed concern after the ICC rejected all their accreditation requests for the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

The International Cricket Council(ICC) faced criticism after blocking media accreditation for Bangladeshi journalists for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Media organisations in Bangladesh raised concerns over the decision.

Reports from Bangladesh said no journalist received approval to cover matches in India or Sri Lanka. Both countries will co-host the 2026 tournament. Several applicants said the ICC first sent approval emails. Later messages informed them of rejection. Senior journalists noted that past tournaments allowed media access from associate and full-member nations. This applied even when teams did not participate.

“On January 26, I learned through an email that my accreditation application had been rejected. I had first seen posts from fellow journalists on social media saying that all accreditations had been cancelled. When I checked my email, I realised I was among those affected. The auto-generated message confirmed that my application had been cancelled,” Aapon Tariq, Sports Editor of Barta24.com, told The Hindustan Times.

“Everyone is disappointed. Bangladesh has been playing in World Cups since 1999, and our senior journalists have been covering ICC events from even before that. Cricket is hugely popular in this country, with newspapers and television channels devoting a large chunk of their coverage to the game. In fact, cricket journalism here can even bring celebrity status and make you a public figure,” he added.

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Sports journalists’ bodies in Bangladesh have expressed dissatisfaction. They said the ICC gave no official explanation. Bangladesh Cricket Board media chairman Amzad Hossain said 130 to 150 journalists applied. He added that all applications were rejected before the event.

ICC Responds to Claims by Bangladeshi Journalists

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council came forward to clarify the situation on Tuesday after claims from Bangladeshi journalists. ICC explained that changes in team participation affected schedules and request volumes.

Officials said approving 80 to 90 applications from one country was not feasible. The ICC follows country-based limits and recommendations from host boards. Sources added that accreditation numbers generally do not exceed 40 per country.

“There is a reworking of the process since there is a change in the number of requests and the schedules. The accreditation lists are being worked out accordingly. If you go by country quota, you can’t exceed the number beyond 40. The ICC goes by the recommendations of the home board and accordingly takes a call on applications,” ICC sources had told news agency PTI.