Men’s T20 World Cup 2026: No talks between Scottish Cricket and ICC over Bangladesh replacement

The International Cricket Council has not held any talks with Scotland about replacing Bangladesh in the men’s T20 World Cup next month – but the Scottish players will be ready if the call comes.

Bangladesh has informed the ICC that it will not travel to India for next month’s T20 World Cup amid political tensions between the two countries, and has requested that its matches be moved elsewhere.

Scotland are the highest-ranked team not participating in the tournament, which would put them in the frame to take Bangladesh’s place if the ICC decides to replace them.

However, BBC Sport has been told that the ICC has not contacted Cricket Scotland at this stage to discuss whether they would be willing to intervene.

Likewise, Scottish cricket officials are not planning to start talks with the world governing body out of respect for their counterparts at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

A fourth-place finish in last summer’s European qualifiers cost Scotland a place in the 2026 T20 World Cup as the Netherlands and Italy took the two places on offer for the region.

Scotland’s players are currently back in training, as they prepare for a one-day international tri-series with Namibia and Oman in Windhoek in March.

It has been reported that a final decision on Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup, and whether they are willing to travel to India for the event, is set to be taken by Wednesday.

BBC Sport has contacted the ICC to clarify the criteria used to determine a replacement in the event a team withdraws or is expelled from the tournament.

Zimbabwe withdrew from the 2009 T20 World Cup in England for political reasons and were replaced by Scotland who were the “next best team” in the pre-tournament global qualifying tournament.

But with qualification for the T20 World Cup, expanded to 20 teams in 2024, now done on a regional basis, it is not that simple and is likely to be a discretionary decision by the ICC.

Scotland are currently ranked 14th in the ICC T20 rankings.

The ICC could move Bangladesh’s matches to a less politically sensitive part of the country, or shift its matches to co-host Sri Lanka.

This was reported by ESPNCricinfo, external The ICC has received a request from the Brazilian Central Bank to swap groups with Ireland, who are scheduled to play all their matches in Sri Lanka.

A Cricket Ireland spokesperson told BBC Sport they have been “confirmed” that “no changes have been made” to their schedule but they are monitoring developments closely.