Scotland Replace Bangladesh in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 After ICC Action

Scotland have taken Bangladesh’s place in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which begins in India and Sri Lanka on 7 February. This happened after the ICC gave Bangladesh a 24-hour deadline a few days earlier, and finally took action on Saturday (24 January). It was only a matter of time before Bangladesh would make way for Scotland since the final decision rested on Saturday morning when word came of the formal writing by ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta to the ICC Board stating Bangladesh’s demands do not fit in with the policy of the ICC.

In the letter, marked to all members of the Board, Gupta is believed to have stated that the BCB was not complying with the ICC Board's decision and that there was no other option but to invite another country, Scotland in this case, in place of Bangladesh for the marquee event.

The copy, naturally, was marked to Aminul Islam, the BCB president, who is a member of the ICC Board. At the same time, Gupta is believed to have also written to Cricket Scotland, dispatching them the official invitation to participate in the championship to be played in India and Sri Lanka.

Cricbuzz contacted Cricket Scotland CEO Trudy Lindblade. She didn't respond at the time of filing this report, but Cricbuzz understands that hotlines between Dubai and Edinburgh started opening on Saturday morning.

Scotland Replace Bangladesh in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 After ICC Decision

Scotland will qualify automatically to the tournament as a result of them been ranked 14th among the unqualified teams to reach the tournament. In the last tournament edition of the ICC world cup in 2024, Scotland ended up third in Group B after earning the same points as England, only to lose to them through NRR calculations.

In 2022, Scotland managed to defeat West Indies in the group stages but ended up third, failing to reach the super 12 stage as a result of finishing third in the process. In 2021, Scotland managed to defeat, ironically, the opponents they will be replacing in the ICC world cup, Bangladesh, in the group stages to top the group, though failing to record a single win in the super 12 stages.

Scotland had missed out on qualification for this edition, as they finished fourth in last year's Europe Qualifiers, with Netherlands and Italy taking the two spots on offer. They have, however, previously benefited from such reprieve, gaining a late entry into the 2009 T20 World Cup when Zimbabwe pulled out. The swap means Scotland will now be placed in Group C in the preliminary stage of the competition and will play West Indies on February 7, Italy on February 9 and England on February 14 in Kolkata, before travelling to Mumbai to take on Nepal on February 17.

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