The National Sports Council (NSC) has published an investigation report holding former Youth and Sports Advisor Professor Dr. Asif Nazrul responsible for the decision not to send the Tigers to India for the last T20 World Cup, which has now become a focal point of discussion.

Amid this, the former advisor has broken his silence regarding the investigation report.

On Tuesday (September 15), he explained his stance on not sending the team to India through a post on his verified Facebook account.

The post is presented verbatim for the readers:

T20 World Cup: Why didn't we go to India?
The decision not to go to India to play the T20 World Cup was primarily mine as the then Sports Minister. I myself have stated this publicly multiple times.

Therefore, I do not understand what prompted the Ministry of Sports to investigate and publish the matter after all this time.

The incident originated from the insulting exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL under the directives of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) due to pressure from extremist Hindutva groups.

Immediately following that, we expressed our reluctance to travel to India for the World Cup in protest against security concerns and the disrespect shown toward Bangladesh.

That our apprehensions were not unfounded was acknowledged in the ICC's very first report.

It cited three security concerns in India: if Mustafizur was in the World Cup squad, if Bangladeshi supporters moved around freely, and in the context of the upcoming elections in Bangladesh.

BBC Bangla also published an exact Bengali translation of that report. In this situation, why would we go to play in India?

We made numerous efforts until the end to play the World Cup at an alternative venue. We even received support from some countries.

However, likely due to Indian dominance in the ICC leadership, it ultimately did not materialize. Most importantly, there was no communication from the Indian authorities regarding taking us to India.

Three factors were crystal clear behind our decision: national dignity, the safety of our cricketers, journalists, and supporters, and maintaining stability in the country ahead of the upcoming elections.

At the time, it was said that not playing the World Cup would halt Bangladesh's matches against foreign teams.

Through various initiatives by our cricket board, that concern was eventually dispelled.

I believe we made the right decision. It is not right to expect that just because we are a small country, anyone can insult us as they please, and we will always silently accept it.

I believe in friendship with India on the basis of equal dignity, not in accepting everything with a bowed head.

Meanwhile, the investigation committee claims that the then sports advisor Asif Nazrul made the decision unilaterally.

The report notes that he did not feel the need to consult anyone else's opinion.

Even during the meeting held with the cricketers, he reportedly only informed them of his own decision.

The investigation committee's report states that such crucial decisions should not be made at the whim of a single individual.

The committee expressed the view that such decisions need to be made after detailed discussions with all relevant authorities, keeping the future of the cricketers and the expectations of millions of cricket-loving citizens of the country in mind.