When you walk the streets of old Dhaka today, you will hear a sound that seems totally out of place, stillness.

The flags are still folded, the face paints still sitting in the containers, and the Tigers are not around on the international stage.

For the first time ever, Bangladesh will not be participating in the event. But this isn’t the tale of a team that struggled on the pitch. It is the story of a sport that has allowed one supreme person to colonise its regulatory body, trade its soul, and weaken its neutrality.

The standoff: A New Delhi-written script
There was a noise at the start of this heartbreak and a closed door at the finish. The relationship between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the BCCI worsened into a cold war after the geopolitical changes of late 2024 and early 2025.

When the BCB requested a “Hybrid Model”, the very same arrangement the ICC granted India for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, the response from Dubai was swift and surgical. There would be no neutral venues for Bangladesh. No compromise.

The Tigers were given the option to play in India under tense conditions or stay at home by the ICC, which seemed more like the regional branch of the BCCI than an international watchdog.

Bangladesh chose dignity. The ICC chose to replace them with Scotland. In one stroke, 200 million of the world’s most passionate cricket fans were erased from the map.

The “Big One”: A financial monologue
To understand why the ICC turned its back on Dhaka, we must follow the money. We are no longer living in the era of the “Big Three”. We are living in the era of the “Big One”.

Under the current 2024–2027 revenue cycle, the BCCI is slated to pocket a staggering 38.5% of the ICC’s total earnings—roughly $231 million annually. To put that in perspective, Bangladesh receives a mere 4.46%. This isn’t just a disparity; it is a financial chokehold.

“Neutrality” becomes an illusion when one board controls about 40% of worldwide revenue and creates 80% of the commercial market value. Because it cannot afford to anger its main sponsor, the ICC has turned into a “Paper Tiger”, unable to enforce its own regulations. This is contemporary colonisation: the rules are changed to fit the sovereign’s wishes, and the resources of the many are transferred to the treasuries of the one.

The Jay Shah shadow: Governance or control?
The colonisation isn’t just financial; it is administrative. With the ascension of Jay Shah to the ICC Chair, the line between India’s domestic political interests and the global game’s welfare has blurred to the point of invisibility.

Analytical observers have noted a disturbing pattern: tournament schedules that cater exclusively to Indian prime-time TV, host selections that ignore emerging markets, and a “rules for thee but not for me” approach to touring obligations.

When India refuses to travel to Pakistan, the world bends. When Bangladesh asks for a venue shift for safety, the world breaks.

The human cost of a “Corporate” cup
Cricket is not an Excel file, which those wearing suits in Mumbai and Dubai are unaware of. Scotland can take Bangladesh’s spot on a schedule, but you can’t take away a country’s pulse.

The ICC has indicated that the “Global” in its name is a branding effort rather than a purpose statement by excluding Bangladesh. They have traded the raw, unbridled passion of the Chittagong crowds for a sanitised, corporate-friendly tournament where the outcome is secondary to the ad revenue.

The “India Bias” is no longer a grievance; it is a structural reality that is shrinking the sport. The ICC is serving as the BCCI’s intermediary, and cricket is turning into a private club with a very high membership price.

The Decision
There will be a champion of the 2026 T20 World Cup, but there will be a star (*) next to the trophy. It will be the trophy won in a tournament where the world’s most fervent fans were told they didn’t matter.

If the ICC does not undergo a radical “decolonisation”—redistributing revenue and insulating its leadership from national board politics—the sport will continue to wither. A game that belongs to everyone is being claimed by one.

The rest of the cricketing world should be extremely concerned as the streets of Dhaka continue to be silent. Because who will be the next to be silenced if the Tigers can be hushed today?