Why Scotland Have Been Picked As Bangladesh's Replacement For T20 World Cup 2026

Bangladesh have been eliminated from the T20 World Cup 2026 after refusing to travel to India for the event. The side cited "security concerns" as the major reason and requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift its matches from India to Sri Lanka, the co-hosts of the tournament. The apex cricket body denied Bangladesh's request. The country then stuck to its stance and reiterated it a day later after the ICC verdict. This forced the world cricket governing body to replace Bangladesh with Scotland for the T20 World Cup 2026.

Why has Scotland been named as Bangladesh's replacement?

Scotland is the top-ranked team not to have qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026. This made the side the first option to replace Bangladesh after the country decided to stick to its position of not travelling to India, even after a vote on the issue yielded a 14-2 verdict against them at the ICC.

Scotland will now be placed in Group C in the preliminary stage of the tournament. They will play their four group league games against West Indies (February 7), Italy (February 9) and England (February 14) in Kolkata, followed by a game against Nepal in Mumbai on February 11.

Scotland's entry ended the month-long suspense after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) repeatedly insisted that their matches be shifted to Sri Lanka and even suggested their group be swapped with Ireland.

The Irish Cricket Board, however, categorically dismissed the suggestion.

At the ICC Board meeting, Bangladesh were taken to the cleaners with an overwhelming 14-2 verdict in favour of the 'Tigers' travelling to India for their games.

The ICC gave the BCB a 24-hour deadline to change its stance, but with Asif Nazrul being adamant, the cricket-crazy nation's hopes of playing in the T20 World Cup went up in smoke.

Top ICC officials, including chairman Jay Shah, were reportedly in Dubai on Friday, and late in the evening an email was sent to BCB chairman Aminul Islam Bulbul informing him of the global body's decision.

The BCB, in a desperate measure, also approached the ICC's Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), unaware of the terms of reference of the sub-committee, which is not allowed to hear an appeal against a decision made by its own Board of Directors.

While the mandatory independent security assessment threat for Bangladesh was "low to moderate", the same as for all teams, anti-India hardliner Nazrul issued a diktat, as a representative of the interim government, that the team could not be allowed to travel to India under the circumstances.

In fact, the meeting between Nazrul and the national team players turned out to be a one-way communication, with Nazrul doing all the talking and telling the star cricketers that they would not be allowed to participate in the tournament.

(With agency inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket Scotland Bangladesh Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026