ICC may replace Bangladesh with Scotland if team refuses to travel to India

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) one more day to confirm whether the national team will travel to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup. If Bangladesh maintains its refusal over security concerns, the ICC Board has decided to replace them with Scotland, based on team rankings.

The decision was made at an ICC Board meeting on Wednesday, where a majority of directors supported replacing Bangladesh if they did not participate. Of the 15 directors present, only Pakistan backed the BCB’s position. The meeting followed a letter from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday expressing support for Bangladesh.

The board included directors from all Full Member boards, ICC Chair Jay Shah, BCB president Aminul Islam, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, SLC president Shammi Silva, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, CA chairman Mike Baird, Zimbabwe Cricket president Tavenga Mukuhlani, CWI president Kishore Shallow, Cricket Ireland chair Brian MacNeice, Cricket New Zealand representative Roger Twose, ECB chair Richard Thompson, CSA representative Mohammed Moosajee, and Cricket Afghanistan chairman Mirwais Ashraf. Two Associate Member directors, ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta, deputy chairman Imran Khawaja, and general manager Gaurav Saxena were also present. ICC ACU head Andrew Ephgrave, who visited Dhaka last week to discuss security concerns with BCB, attended as well.

In a statement, the ICC said its decision considered multiple security assessments, including independent reviews, all indicating no credible threat to players, officials, media, or fans at any tournament venue in India.

“The ICC Board noted that changing the schedule at this stage, without credible security threats, could set a precedent affecting the neutrality and integrity of future events,” the statement read. The ICC also said it had shared detailed security plans and assurances with BCB, including layered federal and state law enforcement support.

The BCB, in coordination with the Bangladesh government, had informed the ICC on January 4 that the team would not travel to India due to security concerns, requesting instead to play in Sri Lanka, co-host of the tournament. The move followed the BCCI’s decision to instruct Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad, though no official reason was given.

Since then, Bangladesh has maintained its stance, including a request to swap its group with Ireland, which plays all its group matches in Sri Lanka. The ICC rejected the request, emphasizing that its venue and scheduling decisions are guided by objective threat assessments, host guarantees, and agreed tournament terms applicable to all 20 competing nations.

Bangladesh are in Group C and scheduled to play their first three matches in Kolkata on February 7, 9, and 14, with their final group game in Mumbai on February 17.