The ICC rejected Bangladesh’s request to shift T20 WC 2026 matches from India, citing no security threat. With Bangladesh refusing to play in India, they’ve been given an ultimatum — if they withdraw, Scotland could replace them in the tournament.
Bangladesh’s participation in the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup 2026 has been hit with a roadblock as the International Cricket Council (ICC) officially rejected their request for a change of venue from India to Sri Lanka on Wednesday, January 21.
The ICC held an official board meeting via video conference, where all the members, including chairman Jay Shah, attended to discuss Bangladesh’s request to shift its national team’s group stage matches from India to Sri Lanka. Earlier, the Bangladesh sports advisor, Asif Nazrul, reiterated their adamant refusal to send the team to India and insisted they would not be pressured by the ICC to play the T20 World Cup in India.
The crisis over Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup participation began after the pacer Mustafizur Rahman was released from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad ahead of the IPL 2026 as per the instructionsby the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), apparently due to the ongoing religious and political tensions between India and Bangladesh.
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Then, Bangladesh responded by taking a firm stance against sending the team to India due to players’ welfare and security concerns.
ICC Sticks to Original Schedule for T20 World Cup 2026
The majority of the members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) voted against changing the schedule or relocating Bangladesh’s group stage matches from India to Sri Lanka. In a statement released by the world governing body of cricket, the ICC stated that there is no ‘credible security threat’ in India, adding that changing venues so close to the tournament could pose an unprecedented risk for future events.
The body further added that Bangladesh remains adamant on its stance of refusal to travel to India to the T20 World Cup 2026 despite formal authorities from the host authorities stating that there were no credible and verifiable threats to the safety of the team in India, and therefore, the upcoming edition of the marquee event will go as per the schedule approved by the ICC.
As per the report by Press Trust of India, the ICC sources stated that 14 out of 16 members voted against the relocation of Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka, adding that the world governing body of cricket gave an additional day to take a final decision.
“Of all the members, only BCB and Pakistan voted in favour of the relocation request, while all others voted against it. Bangladesh was given time till January 21 to confirm its participation, but they have been given one more day by the ICC Board to state its position,” an ICC source told PTI.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) gave an ultimatum to the Bangladesh Cricket Board to give their final decision by January 21. If Bangladesh still refuses to travel to India, then the team will be replaced by Scotland in Group C, which consists of the West Indies, England, Italy, and Nepal.
How does Scotland Earns Qualification to the T20 WC?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) awaits the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)’s final decision after granting an additional day. If Bangladesh refuses to change its stance or fails to confirm its participation, Scotland is in line to replace the team in the group stage of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026.
As per the ICC’s T20 World Cup qualifying system, if a qualified team withdraws from the tournament or fails to confirm their participation, the world governing body of cricket can invite the highest-ranked non-qualified team to feature in the marquee event. In this case, Scotland is currently the frontrunner to replace Bangladesh in the event of a withdrawal.
Scotland is currently ranked 14th in the ICC Men’s T20I team rankings, making it the highest‑ranked team not already qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026. Scotland missed out on the qualification to the marquee event after finishing in fourth spot in the European Qualifier tournament behind the Netherlands, Italy, and Jersey.
The Netherlands and Italy qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026 after finishing in top two of the European Qualifiers, with the Dutch side topping the group and Italy securing the second spot.
What’s Scotland T20 World Cup Record?
Scotland’s record in the T20 World Cup is not so impressive, as they never qualified beyond the group stage of the marquee event. The Scottish team featured in the first two editions of the T20 World Cup in 2007 and 2009, where they finished 10th in the final standings before making a comeback to the tournament after nine years in 2016.
Scotland featured in the 2021, 2022, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup, but they have generally struggled to progress deep in the tournament, with their best performance coming in 2021 when they reached the Super 12 stage. In the last edition of the tournament, Scotland finished ninth in the final standings with two wins, a loss, and one no result in four matches.
In the six editions of the T20 World Cup, Scotland won seven matches, lost 13, and had two no results, highlighting their struggle to make a significant impact on the global stage despite occasional competitive performances.’ In fact, Scotland has already direct qualification to the 2030 T20 World Cup, as the co-host alongside England and Ireland.
It remains to be seen whether Scotland gets to feature in the T20 World Cup 2026, depending on Bangladesh’s final decision on participation in India.
