Former Australia fast bowler and ex-Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie has explained why he deleted a social media post questioning the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) handling of Bangladesh’s concerns regarding participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Gillespie said he took down the post after receiving abusive responses on X for raising what he described as a simple and logical question.
“Because I got abused for asking a simple question that’s why,” Gillespie said in response to a user asking why the tweet had been deleted.
Jason Gillespie deleted his post on X today in which he questioned the ICC for not allowing Bangladesh to play outside India. Why @dizzy259 ? pic.twitter.com/WyA4Qwdhmr
— CricFollow (@CricFollow56) January 25, 2026
The controversy began after the ICC removed Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup and replaced them with Scotland following the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) refusal to send its team to India due to security concerns.
In the now-deleted post, Gillespie questioned why Bangladesh could not play its matches outside India, pointing to past precedents.
He noted that India had previously declined to play Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan and was allowed to play those games at neutral venues. “Can someone make this make sense?” he asked in the post.
Soon after sharing the message, Gillespie faced a wave of hostile and abusive comments, which led him to delete the tweet.
Bangladesh’s concerns largely stemmed from a recent Indian Premier League incident (IPL) involving fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, who was reportedly dropped from the tournament after receiving threats from Hindu extremist groups.
Bangladesh cited the episode as evidence that if a single player could not be protected, the safety of an entire national squad could not be guaranteed.
The ICC rejected the argument, stating that the IPL incident was a domestic issue and unrelated to the World Cup’s security arrangements.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has openly backed Bangladesh’s position. Reports suggest the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering several protest options, including a possible boycott of its February 15 match against India in Colombo.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has also delayed a final decision on Pakistan’s participation in the tournament after meeting with Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, saying the board will announce its stance by Friday or early next week.