All the drama has finally come to an end. The International Cricket Council officially replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in Group C of the forthcoming Men’s T20 World Cup, confirming the decision through a press release on Saturday.
The decision came two days after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) opted not to send its team to India for the marquee event, citing security concerns in line with a government directive.
In its media release, the ICC stated: “The International Cricket Council today announced that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after the Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to participate in the tournament as per the published match schedule.”
The ICC further claimed that it found no security threat to Bangladesh in India, adding: “In the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, the ICC rejected the BCB’s request to move its matches from India to Sri Lanka in the 20-team tournament scheduled to be played from 7 February to 8 March.”
However, according to sources close to BCB, the board was informed on Friday night that Bangladesh was no longer part of the T20 World Cup. BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul was also notified by ICC in this regard although the development became public on Saturday.
The decision was finalized on Saturday morning after a letter from ICC Chief Executive Sanjog Gupta was placed before the ICC Board. In the letter, Gupta stated that Bangladesh’s request for a venue change had no valid basis under ICC regulations and recommended that the tournament proceed without them.
According to ESPNcricinfo, ICC informed its board members via email, stating: “The BCB is not agreeable to playing the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 as per the match schedule with their matches in India. We are therefore going ahead with the board decision to replace Bangladesh in the tournament.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board president Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday that Bangladesh had been treated unfairly. “I said the same thing in the ICC board meeting,” said Naqvi, who was present at the emergency meeting convened to discuss the Bangladesh issue.
Bangladesh were drawn in Group C of the World Cup alongside West Indies, Italy, England and Nepal. Their first three matches, scheduled for February 7, 9 and 14, were set to be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, while the February 17 fixture against Nepal was slated for Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Following the Bangladesh government’s decision not to send the team to India, Scotland will now take part in those four matches.
The ICC also emphasized the need to preserve the integrity of the tournament schedule, safeguard the interests of all participating teams and fans, and avoid setting precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events.
On Wednesday, the ICC Board had requested the BCB to confirm within 24 hours whether Bangladesh would participate in the tournament as scheduled. Scotland was considered as a replacement after no confirmation was received within the stipulated deadline.
“As no confirmation was received within the stipulated deadline, ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team,” the ICC said.
Explaining why Scotland emerged as the frontrunner despite failing to qualify directly, the ICC added: “Scotland are the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament. They are currently ranked 14th, ahead of seven teams already in the tournament: Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, the United States of America, Canada, Oman and Italy.”
