Nasser Hussain rips into ICC over Bangladesh decision

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has publicly supported Pakistan and Bangladesh in their standoff with the International Cricket Council (ICC) during the build-up to the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup.

Hussain’s comments came amid growing controversy surrounding Bangladesh’s removal from the tournament and Pakistan’s decision to boycott its scheduled group-stage match against India in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The dispute centres on Bangladesh’s request to relocate its matches out of India due to security concerns — a plea the ICC declined, leading to Bangladesh being excluded from the event. Pakistan subsequently announced it would not take the field against India, citing solidarity with Bangladesh and disagreements over the ICC’s handling of the situation.

Speaking on a Sky Cricket podcast, Hussain criticised the ICC’s approach and hailed the stance taken by both Bangladesh and Pakistan. He said he “quite likes Bangladesh sticking to their guns” and praised Pakistan for backing its regional neighbours, describing the episode as a moment when “someone had to say enough” to perceived inequality in cricket governance. Hussain also lamented the increasing influence of politics and money in the sport.

The controversy has cast uncertainty over one of the World Cup’s most-anticipated fixtures — the India-Pakistan match scheduled for February 15 — and raised questions about the ICC’s ability to balance tournament integrity with member nations’ concerns.

“I quite like Pakistan sticking up for Bangladesh. And at some stage, someone’s got to say enough with this politics. Can we just get back to playing cricket?” Hussain said on the Sky Cricket Podcast in a conversation with Michael Atherton.

“So maybe it is a real crunch point because the only way Pakistan can hurt the ICC or even India is with the money and the finances of that India-Pakistan game. That’s the only way,” he added.

Hussain also said that the current situation of the game has become “depressing” as politics continues to come in the way.

“I have some sympathy with the ICC there, that the late decision to say right, we’re not travelling. So I guess the real comparison would be, and this is the real question that only the ICC can answer, if it had been India and in the future if India a month before a tournament say our government does not want us to go and play in that country in a world cup, would the ICC have been so firm and say you know the rules, bad luck, we’re knocking you out. That is the only question that all sides ask for is consistency,” said Hussain. (Newswire)

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