T20 World Cup 2026: Bangladesh Accepts ICC Decision On Removal And Replacement By Scotland

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed that it will not challenge the ICC’s decision to remove Bangladesh from the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, accepting its replacement by Scotland.

The ICC formally announced on Saturday that Scotland would take Bangladesh’s place after the latter refused to travel to India for the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka next month.

The ICC was forced into a late change after Bangladesh maintained its stance that it was unsafe for players and officials to travel to India, despite an independent security assessment ruling out any specific threat.

With no compromise being reached with the BCB, the ICC named Scotland as the replacement team for the tournament.

BCB media committee chairman Amjad Hossain said the board had exhausted all available options but accepted that the ICC was unwilling to meet Bangladesh’s requests.

“We have tried our best. We fully respect the ICC Board, and the Board’s majority decision was that the match cannot be relocated,” Hossain said. “Even after that, we tried in our own way and made requests. Since they will not do it or do not want to, there is nothing more we can do.”

BCB Rules Out Arbitration

Hossain made it clear that the BCB will not pursue arbitration or any further legal process, effectively closing the matter.

“We have accepted the ICC Board’s decision, as the ICC has said that we will not be able to go and play, nor can our match be shifted to Sri Lanka,” he said.

“We have spoken with the government. The government has said that going to India to play in the World Cup would not be safe for us, for our players, journalists, or anyone accompanying the team,” he added.

ICC Rejected Requests For Venue Change

The BCB had formally requested the ICC to either shift Bangladesh’s matches to Sri Lanka or move the team from Group C to Group B to avoid travel to India.

Both proposals were rejected by the ICC, whose Board had already agreed that Bangladesh would be replaced if government clearance was not obtained.

“In that case, we requested that our match be shifted to Sri Lanka. However, the ICC did not agree to that, even after several rounds of meetings,” Hossain said. “Since the ICC did not respond, there is not much we can do because this is the government’s decision.”

“Due to security concerns, playing in India is not safe for us, and that is why this decision has been taken,” he added.

(With PTI Inputs)