ICC Excludes Bangladesh from T20 World Cup, Scotland Named as Replacement

Darwin, 24 January: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially excluded Bangladesh from the upcoming 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, replacing them with Scotland, following Bangladesh’s refusal to participate in the tournament in India.

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, the ICC said the decision was taken after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) failed to confirm participation according to the published tournament schedule.

The 20-team T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held from February 7 to March 8, 2026, with matches hosted in India. The BCB had expressed concerns over security and requested that Bangladesh’s matches be shifted from India to Sri Lanka. However, the ICC rejected the request, stating that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials, or supporters in India.

According to the ICC, the decision followed a lengthy consultation process lasting more than three weeks, during which multiple video conferences and in-person meetings were held with the BCB. The ICC reviewed the concerns raised and conducted independent security assessments involving both internal and external experts. Detailed security and operational plans, including enhanced protocols at central and state levels in India, were shared repeatedly with the BCB.

“The ICC’s assessment concluded that there is no credible or verifiable security risk for the Bangladesh national team or its supporters in India,” the statement said. The governing body added that altering the tournament schedule would undermine the integrity and neutrality of ICC events and could set an undesirable precedent.

Following a meeting on Wednesday, the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board had given the BCB 24 hours to confirm whether Bangladesh would participate under the existing schedule. When no confirmation was received within the deadline, the ICC initiated its established governance and qualification procedures to select a replacement team.

Scotland were chosen as the replacement as they are currently the highest-ranked team in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings among nations that did not originally qualify for the tournament. Scotland are ranked 14th, ahead of Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, the United States, Canada, Oman, and Italy.

The ICC reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the interests of all participating teams and fans while ensuring fairness and consistency across its global events.