Why did Scotland replace Bangladesh for the T20 World Cup 2026? ICC reveals

ICC replace Bangladesh with Scotland [Source: @Akshatgoel1408/x]The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially announced the addition of Scotland into the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the expense of the Bangladesh cricket team. The decision was made by the apex body after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Bangladesh government refused to participate at the showpiece event in India next month. In a landmark move, the Scotland cricket team will now be replacing Bangladesh in Group C of the tournament, joining the likes of England, West Indies, Nepal and Italy in a five-team group. ICC replaces Bangladesh with Scotland in landmark decision In a press release, the ICC officially welcomed Scotland as one of the competing nations for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka starting next month. The announcement comes after the ICC failed to receive any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh team in India, as opposed to the “security concerns” subject raised by the BCB and the Bangladesh government. As part of the process, the ICC confirmed that the apex body reviewed all the concerns raised by the BCB. Upon assessment, the ICC concluded that there was no security threat to either Bangladesh players, match officials or Bangladesh fans in India. The apex body also confirmed that they replaced Bangladesh in a bid to preserve the “integrity and sanctity of the tournament schedule”. It is worth noting that earlier this week, the ICC had given the BCB a 24-hour time frame to confirm their stance of participating at the 2026 T20 World Cup in India. The BCB and the Bangladesh government, in turn, remained adamant in their decision of boycotting their rival nation. Bangladesh boycotts Indian cricket Earlier this month, the BCB and the Bangladesh government confirmed that they will not be sending the Bangladesh team to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The BCB also urged the ICC to relocate their T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka instead. A senior BCB official cited security concerns behind the BCB’s decision, largely spiralling out after senior fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was expelled from the KKR’s IPL 2026 squad by the BCCI. The BCCI itself removed Rahman from the IPL 2026 overseas roaster in light of the prevailing geo-political tensions between the countries and the attack on religious minorities in Bangladesh. In turn, the Bangladesh government also stopped the broadcasting of IPL matches in the country. Why did ICC pick Scotland as Bangladesh’s replacement The ICC named Scotland as Bangladesh’s ideal replacement for the 2026 T20 World Cup. The apex body specifically picked Scotland because the UK country is the highest-ranked T20I team in the world that was not participating in the tournament. Currently ranked 14th on the ICC men’s T20I rankings, the Scotland team is already ranked ahead of seven competing teams, finding themselves above the likes of Namibia, UAE, Nepal, USA, Oman among other nations. With Scotland slotted in, the 2026 T20 World Cup schedule remains unchanged, barring Bangladesh’s exclusion from the tournament.