ICC confirms Scotland’s participation in place of Bangladesh for the T20 World Cup.

The International Cricket Council has formally confirmed that Scotland would replace Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which begins on February 7.

The decision followed Bangladesh’s rejection to travel India for the event, with both the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the Bangladeshi government citing security concerns. “Despite more than three weeks of consultations, Bangladesh did not provide final confirmation of participation within the deadline set by the ICC,” according to the International Criminal Court.

According to the ICC, substantial conversations were made with the BCB, as well as rigorous security evaluations by internal and independent external specialists. The ICC declared that no genuine or proven security threat to the Bangladesh squad, officials, or fans in India was discovered throughout these investigations.

The ICC also refused the BCB’s request to shift Bangladesh’s matches from India to Sri Lanka, the tournament’s co-host, stating that modifications to the published schedule were not possible so close to the event.

Following the last meeting, the BCB was given 24 hours to affirm its participation under the current circumstances. When no answer was received within that date, the ICC used its governance and qualifying criteria to choose a replacement team.

Scotland, presently rated 14th in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings, was chosen as the next highest-ranked side to narrowly miss qualifying. They rank higher than Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, the United States, Canada, Oman, and Italy.

Scotland will replace Bangladesh in Group C, with England, Italy, Nepal, and the West Indies.