Official: ICC Replaces Bangladesh with Scotland in T20 World Cup
The International Cricket Council has officially replaced Bangladesh with Scotland in the T20 World Cup 2026, set to begin on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.
The decision came on Saturday, January 24, after the ICC issued a 24-hour deadline to the Bangladesh Cricket Board and received no response. Officials confirmed that Bangladesh’s requests did not align with ICC policy, leaving the governing body with no option but to act.
The ICC has formally invited Cricket Scotland to take Bangladesh’s place in the tournament. The decision was also communicated to BCB president Aminul Islam, who is a member of the ICC Board.
Scotland were selected as the replacement based on their ICC ranking. They were the highest-ranked team (14th) not originally qualified for the tournament.
Scotland are not new, they have some T20 World Cup history. In the 2024 edition, they finished third in Group B on the same points as England but missed out on net run rate. In 2022, they beat West Indies in the group stage but failed to reach the Super 12. In 2021, Scotland topped their group after defeating Bangladesh but went winless in the Super 12.
They also benefitted from a late World Cup entry in 2009, when Zimbabwe withdrew from the tournament.
Scotland had initially missed out on qualification for the 2026 event after finishing fourth in the Europe Qualifiers, with the Netherlands and Italy taking the available spots.
Scotland Placed in Group C for T20 World Cup
Following the swap, Scotland will compete in Group C of the tournament. Their fixtures include matches against West Indies on February 7, Italy on February 9 and England on February 14 in Kolkata. Scotland will then travel to Mumbai to face Nepal on February 17.
Why Bangladesh Were Removed from the T20 World Cup
Bangladesh’s exit was not due to a single incident. It followed weeks of discussions and disagreements between the ICC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
The situation escalated after Mustafizur Rahman was released from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad on the BCCI’s instruction amid diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh.
Following that decision, the BCB took a firm stance against playing matches in India.
Despite multiple meetings, venue assurances and security assessments, the ICC found no grounds to relocate Bangladesh’s matches. With no agreement reached before the deadline, the ICC moved ahead with Scotland as the replacement.
Series of Events Leading to Bangladesh’s Exit
- Jan 3: BCCI instructs KKR to release Mustafizur Rahman.
- Jan 4: Bangladesh Cricket Board formally submits venue change request.
- Jan 5: Bangladesh ministry halts IPL broadcasts.
- Jan 7: Bangladesh presses for venue shift to avoid “national humiliation.”
- Jan 11: ICC picks Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram for Bangladesh’s venues.
- Jan 12: Security assessment finds no threat for Bangladesh in India.
- Jan 13: ICC urges Bangladesh to reconsider their stance.
- Jan 16: ICC officials visit Dhaka to convince Bangladesh.
- Jan 17: BCB offers group swap with Ireland; ICC says no.
- Jan 21: ICC rejects relocation, gives 24-hr deadline; BCB hopes for miracle.
- Jan 22: BCB claims ICC injustice, security risks unchanged.
- Jan 23: ICC prepares Scotland as replacement after no response from BCB.
- Jan 24: ICC officially replaces Bangladesh with Scotland.