Sports Desk //

The speculation has come to an end. The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced in a press release today that Bangladesh will not play in the 2026 T20 World Cup. The world cricket governing body has announced that Scotland will replace them after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to play in India as per the schedule.

The ICC said that the BCB’s request to move the match to Sri Lanka was rejected as there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team on Indian soil. The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will begin on February 7.

The ICC statement said that it was forced to take this difficult decision as it was not realistic to accommodate the BCB’s request with the tournament approaching so soon.

The press release stated that the ICC had been “engaging with the BCB in transparent and constructive discussions for more than three weeks” after the BCB expressed concerns about the security of Bangladesh players, officials and supporters in India.

Noting that an independent security assessment was conducted by internal and external security experts, the ICC wrote, “The assessment concluded that there is no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India. In light of all this information and considering the larger impact, the ICC has concluded that the published event schedule should not be revised.”

Concerns about the security of Bangladeshis in India have increased following the exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL on January 3 due to threats from extremists. The BCB and the interim government of Bangladesh have expressed concerns about the security of others, including the World Cup team cricketers, in India, after failing to ensure the security of one individual.

Discussions on this issue have been ongoing for about three weeks after the ICC sent a request to move Bangladesh’s match from India to Sri Lanka on January 4. There have been video conferences and in-person discussions, and even a virtual ICC board meeting. After that meeting held on January 21, the ICC said that Bangladesh will have to play as per the previously scheduled schedule.

In a press release today, the ICC wrote, ‘Following a meeting held on Wednesday, the BCB was given a 24-hour deadline to inform whether it would travel to India to play or not. Since no confirmation was received within the stipulated time, the ICC ‘proceeded to identify an alternative team in accordance with its established administrative and selection processes.’’

The ICC said that Scotland, the highest ranked team among the teams that did not make it to the T20 World Cup, has been informed to play in this year’s T20 World Cup instead of Bangladesh. The Scots will play against the West Indies, England, Nepal and Italy in Group ‘C’ instead of Bangladesh.

Stay connected with regular news.