DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The International Cricket Council (ICC) has removed Bangladesh from next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, confirming that Scotland will take their place following the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s refusal to send its team to India.
The global tournament, co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India, is scheduled to run from February 7 to March 8. Bangladesh’s withdrawal marks one of the most significant pre-tournament developments in recent World Cup history.
Decision communicated by email
According to reports from ESPNcricinfo, the ICC formally notified the Bangladesh Cricket Board by email on Friday evening, after the BCB advised that the Bangladesh government had not granted approval for the team to travel to India for the competition.
The ICC also circulated the decision to its board members via email, outlining the basis for the ruling.
“The BCB is not agreeable to playing the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 per the match schedule with their matches in India. We are, therefore, going ahead with the board decision to replace Bangladesh in the tournament,” the ICC stated in the correspondence.
Emergency meeting set the course
The decision followed an emergency ICC board meeting held by video conference on Wednesday. During that meeting, a majority of directors voted in favor of replacing Bangladesh if the BCB continued to insist that its matches be relocated entirely to Sri Lanka.
In a statement issued afterward, the ICC said altering the schedule at such a late stage was not a viable option.
The board agreed it would not be “feasible” to revise the tournament structure “so close” to the start date.
Concerns over precedent and neutrality
The ICC further explained that accommodating Bangladesh’s request, without evidence of a credible security threat, could have far-reaching implications.
Board members expressed the view that changing the schedule in the “absence of any credible security threat” in India could “set a precedent that would jeopardize the sanctity of future ICC events and undermine its neutrality as a global governing body.”
Scotland slotted into Group C
Bangladesh had been drawn in Group C alongside West Indies, England, Nepal, and Italy. They were scheduled to play their first three matches in Kolkata and their fourth in Mumbai, fixtures that will now be assumed by Scotland.
Security concerns surfaced after the Board of Control for Cricket in India, on January 3, instructed Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad. Although no formal explanation was given, the move occurred against the backdrop of strained diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh.
The ICC, however, dismissed the Mustafizur situation as a valid basis for Bangladesh’s position, stating that the BCB was “repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its player’s involvement in a domestic league.”
“This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the ICC added.
As the countdown to the World Cup continues, Scotland now steps into the global spotlight, while Bangladesh’s absence underscores the ICC’s firm stance on scheduling integrity and governance ahead of one of cricket’s flagship events.
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