Scotland to replace Bangladesh in 2026 T20 World Cup, confirms ICC

Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday confirmed that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) declined to take part in the tournament under the existing match schedule.

The decision follows the ICC’s rejection of the BCB’s request to relocate Bangladesh’s fixtures from India to Sri Lanka, citing the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India. The 20-team tournament is scheduled to be held from February 7 to March 8, 2026.

In a statement, the ICC said the move came after an extensive process to address the concerns raised by the BCB.

“Over a period of more than three weeks, the ICC engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner, including meetings held both via video conference and in person,” the statement said.

The ICC added that it reviewed the issues cited by the BCB, commissioned independent security assessments from both internal and external experts, and shared comprehensive security and operational plans covering federal and state arrangements, along with enhanced and escalating security protocols for the event. These assurances, the ICC noted, were reiterated at several stages, including discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board.

According to the ICC, the 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 said, stressing the need to preserve the integrity of the tournament schedule and avoid setting precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events.

Following a meeting on Wednesday, the IBC Board asked the BCB to confirm within 24 hours whether Bangladesh would participate as scheduled. With no confirmation received within the deadline, the ICC proceeded in accordance with its governance and qualification procedures to identify a replacement.

Scotland, the highest-ranked T20I side not originally qualified for the tournament, were subsequently named as Bangladesh’s replacement. They are currently ranked 14th in the ICC T20I rankings, ahead of seven teams already in the competition—Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, the United States, Canada, Oman and Italy.

Tags : Scotland, T20 World Cup, ICC, Cricket, Bangladesh