Former Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul has strongly defended Bangladesh's decision to boycott this year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, laying out three reasons behind the call in a lengthy Facebook post published on Tuesday.

"The decision not to send Bangladesh to play in the T20 World Cup in India was essentially mine, taken in my capacity as Sports Minister at the time. I have said this publicly on multiple occasions. So I was somewhat puzzled when the Sports Ministry decided, after all this time, to investigate the matter and make it public," he wrote.

His post came hours after a three-member investigation committee formally placed responsibility on him for the boycott decision, in a report presented at the National Sports Council earlier on Tuesday.

Tracing the dispute to its origin, Nazrul pointed to Mustafizur Rahman's removal from the IPL.

"The sequence of events began with Mustafizur Rahman being humiliatingly dropped from the IPL at the instruction of the Indian cricket board, under pressure from hardline Hindu nationalist groups. Shortly afterwards, we expressed our reluctance to travel to India for the World Cup, in protest at the disrespect shown to Bangladesh and out of genuine concern for the safety of our players, journalists and supporters," he wrote.

He cited an ICC report as validation of those security concerns.

"That our concerns were not without foundation was acknowledged in the ICC's own initial report, which cited three specific security risks if Bangladesh were to participate in India: the presence of Mustafizur in the World Cup squad, the free movement of Bangladeshi supporters, and the proximity of the upcoming general election in Bangladesh," he wrote, adding that BBC Bangla had published a full translation of that report at the time.

"Given that context, why would we go to India to play?" he asked.

Nazrul also said efforts had been made to relocate Bangladesh's fixtures to a neutral venue, without success.

"We made every effort to find an alternative venue where Bangladesh could participate in the World Cup. We received support from certain countries in that pursuit. But ultimately, possibly because of India's dominant influence within the ICC leadership, it proved impossible to arrange. Crucially, the Indian authorities never reached out to us to facilitate Bangladesh's participation either," he wrote.

Summarising his reasoning, he wrote,

"Three considerations were absolutely clear in our thinking: the dignity of the country, the safety of our cricketers, journalists and supporters, and the importance of maintaining stability at home ahead of the upcoming election."

He rejected claims that the boycott had harmed Bangladesh's standing in international cricket.

"It was said at the time that if Bangladesh did not play in the World Cup, our access to international cricket would be cut off. Thanks to various efforts by our cricket board, that concern was ultimately resolved," he wrote, before firmly standing behind the overall call.

"I believe we made the right decision. Being a small country does not mean others are entitled to disrespect us as they please, and it does not mean we should always accept such treatment in silence. I believe in friendship with India on the basis of equal dignity. Not in bowing our heads and accepting whatever we are given," he wrote.

The investigation panel, chaired by Additional Secretary Dr AKM Wali Ullah alongside BCB chief selector Habibul Bashar and lawyer Barrister Faisal Dastagir, was formed by State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque.

Its 22-page report avoided naming Nazrul directly, though officials confirmed at the briefing that a reference to "one person" who should not have decided alone was aimed squarely at him.

The committee also criticised the process behind the decision, noting Nazrul had met cricketers at Hotel InterContinental without consulting any player or team representative.

Barrister Faisal argued the original trigger, Mustafizur's IPL removal, should never have been linked to an international tournament.

The panel interviewed 12 individuals connected to the episode, including captains Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto, BCB president Tamim Iqbal, and coach Mohammad Salahuddin, though attempts to reach Nazrul and former BCB chief Aminul Islam Bulbul directly reportedly went unanswered.

It also flagged an apparent shift in his public position, noting he had cited security risks on January 22 before suggesting on February 10 that the decision had come from the board and players themselves.

The committee recommended clearer institutional structures and stronger diplomatic coordination for decisions of similar magnitude in future.