After Bangladesh’s unanimous decision not to travel to India to play in the World Cup, the ICC has officially announced its decision. In a statement issued this evening (Saturday), the World Cricket Organization announced that Bangladesh will be removed from the upcoming World Cup and Scotland will be included. The statement said:

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The decision comes after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to participate in the tournament as per the published match schedule.

The announcement came after the ICC rejected BCB’s demand to move the matches from India to Sri Lanka, citing no credible or verifiable security risk to the Bangladesh national team on Indian soil during the 20-team tournament, which was to be held from February 7 to March 8.

The decision follows a lengthy process by the ICC to address the concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of the scheduled matches in India. The ICC has held multiple discussions with the BCB through video conferences and face-to-face meetings in a transparent and constructive manner for over three weeks.

As part of this process, the ICC has reviewed the concerns raised by the BCB and has received and considered independent security assessments from internal and external experts. It has also shared detailed security and operational plans with central and state level arrangements and enhanced security protocols for the event. These assurances were repeatedly provided at various stages, including during the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board discussions.

The ICC assessment concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India. In light of these findings and after careful consideration of the overall implications, the ICC has determined that it is not appropriate to amend the published event schedule. The ICC also noted the importance of protecting the integrity and sanctity of the tournament schedule, protecting the interests of all participating teams and fans, and avoiding setting any precedent that could undermine the impartiality and fairness of ICC events.

After Wednesday’s meeting, the IBC board requested the BCB to confirm within 24 hours whether Bangladesh would participate in the tournament as scheduled. As no confirmation was received within the stipulated time frame, the ICC initiated the process of selecting an alternative team as per its established governance and qualification process.

Scotland are currently the top-ranked team in the T20 rankings, among the teams that failed to qualify for the tournament. They are currently in 14th place, ahead of the seven teams already in the tournament: Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, the United States, Canada, Oman and Italy.