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Key Takeaways
- 1📊 Saikat is umpiring the India–New Zealand ODI series as TV umpire
- 2🏆 ICC-contracted elite umpire, free from BCB NOC requirements
- 3💡 Contrast between BCB’s travel stance and Saikat’s India presence
- 4🔮 Ongoing BCB–ICC tensions could shape Bangladesh’s 2026 World Cup path
"With the recent tension involving BCB and the BCCI, the Bangladesh board has confirmed that the umpire is in India as a part of his ICC contract"
While the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) digs in over travelling to India for the ICC T20 World Cup, one familiar Bangladeshi face is already in the thick of the action there — umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat.
ICC elite umpire in India as BCB refuse to tour
Saikat is currently officiating in the ODI series between India and New Zealand, spotted as the TV umpire in the opening game in Vadodara. His presence raised eyebrows back home because the BCB has publicly maintained that their team is “not ready” to travel to India for the World Cup, citing security concerns and the fallout over Mustafizur Rahman’s release from Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the IPL.
The key difference is Saikat’s status. As an ICC-contracted elite umpire, he operates directly under the global body. Under his contract, he does not require a no-objection certificate from the BCB and is free to travel whenever ICC appoints him for international duty. That’s why he could seamlessly move from officiating games in the Bangladesh Premier League T20 to standing in India, even while his home board is locked in a stand-off with the ICC.
From an Indian fan’s lens, it’s a fascinating subplot: Bangladesh’s players may stay away, but one of their top officials is already part of India’s World Cup build-up. It underlines how player-board tussles, franchise flashpoints and ICC commitments are colliding in the 2026 cycle — and how umpires like Saikat sit right at that intersection.
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