Cricket Kitchen

T20 World Cup: Scotland to Play if Bangladesh Refuse to Travel to India

January 22, 2026

Kathmandu – The International Cricket Council (ICC) has granted the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) one additional day to make a final decision on whether it will travel to India to participate in the 2026 T20 World Cup.

If Bangladesh refuse to travel to India citing security concerns, the ICC Board has decided that Scotland will be included in the World Cup based on team rankings.

At the ICC Board meeting held on Wednesday, the majority of member nations voted in favor of replacing Bangladesh with an alternate team. Out of the 15 ICC directors present at the meeting, all member nations except Pakistan supported the ICC’s decision.

Pakistan was the only country to vote in favor of Bangladesh’s stance. It has been reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board had written to the ICC and other boards on Tuesday, requesting support for Bangladesh.

The meeting was attended by ICC Chairman Jay Shah, representatives of all full member nations, senior ICC officials, and heads of the ICC security unit. The security officials had also visited Dhaka last week and held direct discussions with the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the ICC said that independent security assessments and reports concluded that there is no security threat to Bangladeshi players, officials, media personnel, or supporters at any of the venues in India. The ICC also stated that changing the schedule or venues at such a late stage would be impractical and could set an unfavorable precedent for future tournaments.

According to the ICC, the BCB has remained firm in its position citing the release of Mustafizur Rahman by Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2026 as a reason. The ICC clarified that this matter is a personal issue related to a domestic league and should not be linked to World Cup security arrangements.

Bangladesh had informed the ICC on January 4, after coordinating with its government, that it would not travel to India. Since then, the team has been requesting that their matches be moved to Sri Lanka instead of India.

The BCB had also proposed a group change, but the ICC has already rejected that request.

Under the T20 World Cup 2026, Bangladesh are placed in Group C. Their scheduled matches are on February 7, 9, and 14 in Kolkata, and February 17 against Nepal in Mumbai.