Bangladesh Official Lost Cool During ICC T20 World Cup Meeting, Report Reveals How Tensions Ran High
The ICC and BCB were engaged in multiple rounds of dialogue over a period of more than three weeks before the apex cricket board gave its final verdict of replacing Bangladesh with Scotland for T20 World Cup 2026.
- Bangladesh showed their refusal to travel to India for T20 World Cup and thus lost their spot to Scotland
- The ICC and BCB were engaged in multiple rounds of dialogue over a period of more than three weeks
- During one of the discussions, BCB chairman Aminul Islam lost his cool over ICC's reasoning, said a report
Bangladesh have been eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2026 after remaining firm in their stance of not travelling to India. In the wake of Mustafizur Rahman's exit from the Indian Premier League, the country approached the International Cricket Council (ICC), expressing its refusal to travel to India for the world event, citing security concerns. A set of lengthy discussions followed as Bangladesh wanted their T20 World Cup matches to be shifted out to Sri Lanka, which is the co-host of the event.
The apex cricket board didn't approve the request and gave Bangladesh a 24-hour deadline to decide on their participation. As Bangladesh stayed unmoved, the ICC eventually ended the three-week-long suspense by snubbing the side and replacing it with Scotland.
A report in Cricbuzz has revealed that ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta stayed in contact with Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) members after the country was served a deadline to give its final verdict. The report added that tensions even ran high during a video conference meeting and BCB chairman Aminul Islam vented out, while making it clear that he was unwilling to accept the ICC's reasoning.
Bangladesh were set to play a total of four matches in Kolkata and Mumbai during the mega event. They were placed in Group C alongside England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies. The place has now been taken by Scotland, who qualified by virtue of being the best-ranked team that missed qualification for the T20 World Cup.
On Saturday, the ICC gave a detailed information on the issue while announcing Scotland's entry into the T20 World Cup 2026.
"The decision follows an extensive process undertaken by the ICC to address concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of its scheduled matches in India," the apex cricket board said in a statement.
"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 ICC's 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."
Bangladesh Cricket Team
Scotland
India Cricket Team