Scotland have been given a late call-up to the T20 World Cup after Bangladesh were removed following a refusal to play their matches in India due to security concerns.
Amid rising tensions with neighboring India, Bangladesh have repeatedly requested that their group stage matches next month – three in Calcutta, including one against England, and one in Mumbai – be moved to co-host Sri Lanka.
The International Cricket Council insisted it was “not feasible” to switch matches so close to the tournament, which starts on February 7, adding there was “no credible security threat whatsoever”.
Bangladesh refused to budge from their position and the ICC has now moved to replace the Tigers with Scotland, the highest-ranked T20 team who failed to qualify for the tournament. Scotland take over Bangladesh’s place in Group C, which includes England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies. Scotland are 14th in the ICC T20 rankings.
An ICC statement said: “The International Cricket Council today announced that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after the Bangladesh Cricket Board declined to participate in the tournament as per the published fixture schedule.
“The announcement comes after the ICC, in the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected the BCB’s demand to shift the matches from India to Sri Lanka, in the 20-team tournament to be played from February 7 to March 8.”
The Bangladesh Cricket Board and Cricket Scotland have been contacted for comment.
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