Bangladesh set to boycott T20 World Cup 2026; Scotland to replace
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) remain firm on their stance of boycotting the T20 World Cup 2026 despite ICC suggestion to travel to India in which case Scotland are set to replace Bangladesh in the competition.
A day after Bangladesh was suggested by the ICC that they would be replaced at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 if they continue to refuse their travel in India, the board has remained firm on their stance in wanting their matches moved to Sri Lanka, for which they decided to boycott the event, in which case, Scotland will replace them.
Bangladesh is currently in Group C along with England, Italy, the West Indies, and Nepal, and is scheduled to play their first three games at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the last one at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They play the West Indies on February 7, which is the opening day of the tournament.
See Also: ICC security delegates reach Eden Gardens ahead of T20 World Cup 2026
“The security threat is not a theory. It is a real incident. The BCCI bowed down to pressure from fundamental groups and kicked him out of their tournament. The ICC tournament is being held in India, where the BCCI can't give security to one of our players. It will be the responsibility of their security agencies. How can we be convinced that they can provide security to our cricketers, fans, and journalists?” Asif Nazrul, the Bangladesh Sports adviser, expressed.
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After an ICC board meeting, the ICC formally rejected Bangladesh's request to play their matches in Sri Lanka instead of India on grounds of security and gave them 24 hours to speak to their government and return with a decision.
“The ICC hasn't even tried to convince us. They only talked about their standard security plan, rather than addressing our specific grievance. The India government didn't even try to convince us. They didn't call the Mustafizur incident an isolated incident. They didn't say sorry about the Mustafizur incident, or even try to communicate with us.” Nazrul addressed.
The issue of security arose after the BCCI instructed the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad, without making a statement on the purpose of their decision.
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