ICC replaces Bangladesh with Scotland in T20 World Cup 2026
The International Cricket Council (ICC) officially replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in Group C of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday (January 24) replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in Group C of the 2026 T20 World Cup. The decision was made after Bangladesh refused to travel to India for the tournament and wanted their matches moved to Sri Lanka.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) gave the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) a 24-hour deadline a couple of days back, and finally decided to invite Scotland to the tournament.
The ICC informed the BCB via a letter that they had been replaced by Scotland. The global body held a meeting in Dubai on Friday, which was attended by Chairman Jay Shah, to decide Bangladesh's fate in the tournament.
In a last effort, Bangladesh had written a letter to the ICC to refer the issue to the Dispute Resolution Committee. However, the DRC committee cannot act as an appeal forum and decided to go ahead with ICC's final decision. After that, the global body decided to replace Bangladesh with Scotland.
"The decision follows an extensive process undertaken by the ICC to address concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of its scheduled matches in India," ICC said in a statement.
The statement further added that over a period of more than three weeks, the ICC held discussions with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted transparently and constructively, including meetings held both via video conference and in-person.
"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 ICC’s 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 statement added.
Where will Scotland play in T20 World Cup 2026?
Scotland have participated in the last two editions of the tournament in 2022 and 2024, but failed to qualify for the Super 8 stages despite some good performances. They are now placed in Group C alongside England, the West Indies, Italy and Nepal. Scotland will face the West Indies (February 7), Italy (February 9) and England (February 14) in Kolkata, before travelling to Mumbai take on Nepal on February 17.