Below are five past instances in which teams refused to play ICC tournaments in host countries. 1996 ODI World Cup: Australia, West Indies stay away from Sri LankaAhead of the 1996 ODI World Cup, co-host Sri Lanka was facing a civil war, and a bomb blast in Colombo in January—just weeks before the tournament—intensified security fears. 2003 ODI World Cup: England avoid Zimbabwe; New Zealand skip KenyaThe first Africa-hosted ODI World Cup in 2003—co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya—saw two teams refuse to play in host nations. 2009 T20 World Cup: Zimbabwe withdrawRelations between Zimbabwe and the UK remained strained, raising doubts over whether Zimbabwean players would receive visas to travel to England for the 2009 T20 World Cup. 2016 Under-19 World Cup: Australia pull outAustralia had already withdrawn from a bilateral series in Bangladesh in October 2015 due to security concerns.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 14, 2026 16:15 UTC