Bangladesh did not participate in this year’s T20 World Cup following a decision taken by former Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul, according to an investigation report. The report was published on Tuesday (September 15) by the committee formed to investigate why Bangladesh did not take part in the tournament.

The investigation committee said Bangladesh’s cricketers were ready to play in the World Cup and that the team should have participated in the tournament.

The latest T20 World Cup was held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8 this year. Citing security concerns, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move Bangladesh’s matches from India to Sri Lanka. However, the ICC did not accept the request.

Following instructions from the then interim government, the BCB subsequently decided to boycott the T20 World Cup. At the time, then Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul said the government had taken the decision considering security concerns.

Earlier, amid threats from extremist groups, Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from the Indian Premier League by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Following that decision, the then BCB board, headed by former president Aminul Islam, expressed concerns over the security of Bangladesh’s players, coaches, officials and journalists traveling to India to cover the World Cup. The ICC, however, did not take those concerns into consideration.

Scotland later took Bangladesh’s place in the World Cup.

After taking charge of the Youth and Sports Ministry in March, State Minister Aminul Haque had announced that the incident would be investigated. A three-member investigation committee was formed in May. The committee published its report on Tuesday.