Published: Jan 24, 2026, 04:13 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 24, 2026, 04:33 PM (IST)
Scotland has replaced Bangladesh in the 2026 T20 World Cup, scheduled to begin in India and Sri Lanka on February 7th. The ICC has officially announced this. The ICC had given the Bangladesh Cricket Board a 24-hour deadline in a meeting held on January 21st, but Bangladesh refused to tour India, resulting in Scotland being given its place in Group C.
According to a Cricbuzz report, ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta formally wrote to the ICC Board stating that Bangladesh’s demands are not in accordance with ICC policy. In this letter to all board members, Gupta stated that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is not complying with the ICC Board’s decision and there is no other option but to invite another country, in this case, Scotland, to host this major event in place of Bangladesh.
Scotland will replace Bangladesh in Group C, which also includes England, West Indies, Italy, and Nepal. Scotland will play against West Indies (February 7), Italy (February 9), and England (February 14) in Kolkata in the opening stage of the tournament, before departing to play Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.
The controversy began when KKR decided to release Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL. This incident sparked widespread protests in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government and the BCB refused to play the T20 World Cup in India, citing security concerns, and demanded that their matches be relocated to Sri Lanka. Bangladesh also announced a ban on IPL broadcasting in the country.
Following this decision, Bangladesh wrote to the ICC requesting the match be played in Sri Lanka instead of India. The ICC rejected the BCB’s request for a venue shift. At the ICC meeting on January 21, 14 out of 16 countries voted against Bangladesh’s demand. The ICC gave Bangladesh a 24-hour decision to either play in India or withdraw from the tournament. On January 22, the Bangladesh Cricket Board met with the players and maintained its decision not to play in India. The BCB appealed to the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), but under ICC rules, the DRC refused to hear the case, following which the ICC officially expelled Bangladesh.
