At 1am, early on Sunday (February 8), Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam Bulbul was waiting to board a plane at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. While some BCB members were probably asleep at the time, others would have no idea about Bulbul’s itinerary. They came to know about the midnight mission only after a text message landed on the WhatsApp group of BCB directors informing them that Aminul Islam Bulbul was heading to Lahore.
“This trip was confirmed just 90 minutes ago. I am now at the airport. Due to short notice, I could not call anyone. The meeting will be held (February 8) at 4 pm Lahore time. I will return in the evening of February 9,” Aminul Islam Bulbul wrote in a message, according to Bangladeshi newspaper Prothom Alo.
While the report confirmed that Aminul Islam Bulbul is traveling to Lahore, they left BCB directors guessing about the purpose and program of the visit. “I know exactly what you know. The BCB president has gone to Lahore. I will know the rest when he contacts us after the meeting as BCB,” a board member told the daily on the condition of anonymity.
Aminul Islam Bulbul’s midnight drive to Lahore was very much part of the crisis surrounding the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. While Bangladesh had already withdrawn, Pakistan initially said they would not play India in Colombo in solidarity with Dhaka.
The meeting in Lahore, amid reports of a possible U-turn by Pakistan against India’s boycott, has assumed significance. So, Bulbul’s physical presence at the ICC-Pakistan meetingwhere the global cricket body reportedly tried to get the PCB to reconsider its decision not to play India raised eyebrows. Was Bulbul there to support Pakistan, who had previously supported Dhaka and were now considering a potential turnaround? Was that a bargaining chip? Who negotiated and for what?
On the other hand, even if the participants also joined the meeting via Zoom, why did the BCB chief feel compelled to be personally present in Lahore? The agenda of the meeting was largely focused on the case of Pakistan, not Bangladesh, as Scotland had already joined the T20 World Cup as its replacement.
T20 WORLD CUP: THEN BACKED DHAKA, NOW CONSIDERS INDIA MATCH
Pakistani media reported that BCB’s Aminul Islam Bulbul arrived in Lahore on Sunday where he was received by his PCB CEO Salman Nasir. The PCB released a video welcoming him, quoting Nasir as saying, “We warmly welcome the distinguished guest on his arrival in Pakistan”.
The PCB has announced that it will not play India in their T20 World Cup group match on February 15 in Colombo after Bangladesh refused to travel to India for the tournament citing security concerns. Backed by the interim regime of Muhammad Yunus, Bangladesh asked the ICC to move its facilities from India to Sri Lanka. The ICC rejected the request and replaced Bangladesh with Scotland. This set off a chain reaction.
Then on Friday, the Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Nazrul thanked Pakistan for supporting the Dhaka boycott T20 World Cup match. A day earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly justified the move by saying that he was “completely” on the side of Bangladesh. This revealed how both governments made cricket a theater of political engagement against India.
Now that Pakistan have pulled out of the lucrative match against India, the ICC has reportedly decided to hold talks for them to reconsider. It was in this effort that an ICC meeting was convened in which CEO Sanjog Gupta and Naqvi participated. And BCB’s Aminul Islam Bulbul was present in person even as Gupta joined the meeting via Zoom.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE 5 HOUR MEETING OF ICC, PCB, BCB IN LAHORE
The marathon five-hour meeting at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore ended without an immediate resolution. Pakistan is now expected to consult with its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif under the leadership of the federal government before taking a final call on whether to play India on February 15. Anyway, Bangladesh are now out.
Pakistan informed the ICC about it any reconsideration of his boycott would depend on three conditions. It sought a greater share of ICC revenue, the resumption of bilateral cricket with India and the enforcement of the handshake protocol.
The handshake issue has its origins in an Asia Cup match when India’s players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts.
The Pakistan board also said that the final call to play against India in the T20 World Cup will be taken only after consultation with its federal government led by Prime Minister Sharif, in which PCB chief Naqvi is the interior minister. Bulbul and Naqvi also reportedly had a personal meeting in Lahore.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board, like other Bangladeshi departments, is liaising with the Pakistani authorities. The ICC meeting was more about protecting the cricket board’s revenue if Pakistan did not play India. The loss would ultimately affect annual payouts to all member councils, including Bangladesh.
Bangladesh reportedly used the Lahore talks to push for compensation or a settlement following their exclusion from the T20 World Cup.
WHY WAS BANGLADESH PRESENT AT THE ICC-PCB MEETING?
Bangladesh’s presence at the meeting in Lahore was important despite being banned from the tournament. Pakistan are now considering a possible turnaround after Bangladesh have already been eliminated. For Bangladesh, who have no real way back to the World Cup, there must have been a reason for Aminul Islam Bulbul’s presence.
By personally participating, the BCB has remained in line with its stance over the past few months, which has openly sided with Pakistan. The move also strengthened Islamabad’s position and its negotiating hand with the ICC.
The India vs Pakistan match is the biggest revenue generator in world cricket. The ICC earns hundreds of millions from broadcasting rights, sponsorships and advertising. Smaller clubs like Bangladesh receive a fraction of the ICC’s revenue, but these funds, often in the millions, are crucial to running domestic cricket, paying players and developing infrastructure. ICC’s revenue distribution helps such boards to function and maintain their cricket ecosystem even when they are not playing in the booth tournaments.
According to Bangladeshi sports analyst and journalist Deb Chowdhury, the BCB chief’s presence in the meeting could have been used by the ICC to make Pakistan reconsider its decision not to play India.
“It is through Bangladesh that the ICC is trying to get Pakistan to agree… If the India-Pakistan match does not take place, the financial loss will be significant. However, if the match goes ahead, Bangladesh could still get the share it was due, thus minimizing the impact of its exclusion from the FIFA World Cup,” Chowdhury said on his YouTube channel.
“If Bangladesh are confident that his absence from the World Cup will not hurt their finances or future events, they might be ready to influence Pakistan to play India, making it a win-win,” he added.
So Aminul Islam Bulbul’s 1am run to Lahore may have seemed sudden and unexplained to his own management, but it certainly highlighted how deeply Bangladesh was or is being forced to be involved in Pakistan’s cricketing affairs. It also proved that sport does not remain untouched by international politics.
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Issued by:
Sushim Mukul
Published on:
February 9, 2026
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