The International Cricket Council has officially removed Bangladesh from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and replaced them with Scotland after the Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to send its team to India for the tournament.
The decision was communicated by the ICC on 24 January 2026, following nearly three weeks of discussions with the BCB. Bangladesh had consistently declined to participate in the event under the published schedule, citing security concerns related to playing matches in India.
According to the ICC, the matter was reviewed during an emergency meeting of the ICC Business Corporation Board held on 22 January 2026. After the meeting, the BCB was given a 24-hour deadline until 23 January 2026 to confirm whether the national team would travel to India as scheduled. The ICC stated that no confirmation was received within the deadline, leading the board to proceed with the replacement process in line with its regulations.
In an official statement, the ICC said it had conducted extensive reviews of the concerns raised by Bangladesh. Independent security assessments were commissioned and carried out by both internal and external experts. These assessments included evaluations of federal and state security arrangements, venue safety plans, and enhanced security protocols for teams and officials during the tournament.
The ICC concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh team, its officials, or supporters in India. Based on these findings, the board determined that altering the tournament schedule so close to the start of the event would not be appropriate and could set a damaging precedent for future ICC tournaments.
Bangladesh were originally placed in Group C and were scheduled to play three matches in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. These fixtures will now be played by Scotland, with no changes made to venues or match dates. The ICC confirmed that Scotland was selected as the replacement team based on qualification criteria, as the next-highest ranked T20I side that narrowly missed direct qualification.
Cricket Scotland acknowledged the decision and said the team has already begun preparations to travel to India to acclimatise to local conditions ahead of the tournament.
The dispute traces back to early January, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India directed Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad. The decision came on 3 January 2026, shortly after he was signed for ₹9.20 crore at the IPL mini-auction. Although no official explanation was provided, the move occurred amid rising political tensions between India and Bangladesh.
On 4 January 2026, following consultations with the Bangladesh government, the BCB informed the ICC that the national team would not travel to India for its T20 World Cup matches. Bangladesh requested that all its games be shifted to Sri Lanka, the tournament’s co-host. The ICC rejected the request, stating that issues related to a domestic league player could not be linked to the security framework of an ICC global event.
The BCB later indicated that it wished to take the matter to the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee. However, the ICC Board had already voted by a clear majority in favour of replacing Bangladesh if they failed to comply with the published schedule.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled to begin on 7 February 2026, with matches hosted across India and Sri Lanka. With Scotland now confirmed as Bangladesh’s replacement, the tournament will proceed as planned.