Scotland replace Bangladesh after the BCB’s request to relocate its games from India is turned down by the ICC.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has kicked Bangladesh out of the upcoming T20 World Cup and replaced them with Scotland because of an impasse over security concerns that Bangladesh had raised about playing in India.
Following weeks of deliberation and dialogue, the ICC said on Saturday that Bangladesh will be replaced in Group C of the tournament.
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“Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to participate in the tournament per the published match schedule,” the ICC said in its statement.
“The ICC, in the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected the BCB’s demand to move its matches from India to Sri Lanka,” it added.
The tournament, which is due to begin on February 7, is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, but all of Bangladesh’s group fixtures were allocated to venues in India.
The Tigers were scheduled to play on the opening day of the tournament, on February 7, when they would have faced the West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. They were set to play two other group-stage games at the same venue before their final Group C fixture against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
However, the BCB requested the ICC, on January 4, move their fixtures out of India.
The move followed the abrupt removal of star fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) upon instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), due to the ongoing political tensions between the two nations.
The ICC said its decision followed “an extensive process to address concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of its scheduled matches in India”.
“Over a period of more than three weeks, the ICC engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner, including meetings held both via video conference and in-person,” the ICC’s statement went on to add.
“As part of this process, the ICC reviewed the concerns cited by the BCB, commissioned and considered independent security assessments from internal and external experts, and shared detailed security and operational plans covering federal and state arrangements, as well as enhanced and escalating security protocols for the event. These assurances were reiterated at several stages, including during discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board.”
The game’s governing body said its assessments concluded that there was “no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India”.
“In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule. The ICC also noted the importance of preserving the integrity and sanctity of the tournament schedule, safeguarding the interests of all participating teams and fans, and avoiding the establishment of precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events.”
The ICC’s decision comes two days after the BCB reiterated its stance on not travelling to India for its group matches.
The ICC asked the BCB to review its decision with the Bangladeshi government and give a response within a day, following which a final decision would be made.
“Following its meeting on Wednesday, the IBC Board requested the BCB to confirm, within a 24-hour timeframe, whether Bangladesh would participate in the tournament as scheduled,” the ICC said.
“As no confirmation was received within the stipulated deadline, the ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team.”
Scotland will now play in the T20 World Cup as they are the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament.
“We want to play the World Cup, but we won’t play in India. We will keep fighting,” BCB President Aminul Islam told reporters.
The BCB chief said the ICC would stand to lose if Bangladesh were expelled from the tournament.
“The ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup,” he said.
