Scotland has officially replaced Bangladesh in the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will begin on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka. The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed the change on Saturday, citing non-compliance by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) with ICC policies.
ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta informed the ICC Board that Bangladesh had not met the required conditions, leaving the council no choice but to invite Scotland to participate. A formal letter was also sent to Cricket Scotland extending the World Cup invitation.
Scotland, ranked 14th globally, earned the spot based on strong performances in previous ICC events. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, they finished third in Group B on equal points with England but lost on net run rate. In 2022, they beat West Indies in the group stage but failed to progress to the Super 12. Notably, in 2021, they defeated Bangladesh in the group stage and topped their group but did not advance past the Super 12 round.
Under the new arrangement, Scotland will compete in Group C of the preliminary stage. Their fixtures are: • February 7 vs West Indies (Kolkata) • February 9 vs Italy (Kolkata) • February 14 vs England (Kolkata) • February 17 vs Nepal (Mumbai)
The ICC had given Bangladesh time to reconsider its stance on playing matches in India, with CEO Gupta engaging regularly with BCB officials. The council emphasized that it wanted to include all member nations while protecting the integrity and schedule of the World Cup.
