Bangladesh Given 24-Hour ICC Ultimatum to Play in India or Face T20 World Cup Replacement

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) just one day to change its decision about the T20 World Cup 2026. Tensions between India and Bangladesh have grown in recent weeks. Because of this, the BCCI cancelled Mustafizur Rahman’s contract with Kolkata Knight Riders. After that, the BCB said it would not send its team to India for the T20 World Cup, saying there were safety concerns.

ICC Gives Bangladesh 24-Hour Deadline to Confirm T20 World Cup 2026 Participation or Face Replacement by Scotland

For almost two weeks, the ICC and BCB have been in talks. ICC officials even went to Dhaka to try and solve the issue. Bangladesh asked for its matches to be moved out of India. They also suggested swapping groups with Ireland so they could avoid playing in India, but the ICC rejected that idea.

Now, the ICC has taken a firm stand. According to ESPNcricinfo, the ICC has told Bangladesh to speak with its government and confirm whether the team will travel to India. If Bangladesh refuses, they will be removed from the tournament and Scotland will take their place in Group C. Most ICC members voted against moving Bangladesh’s matches out of India, which led to this final warning.

BREAKING: ESPNcricinfo understands the ICC has told the BCB that Bangladesh will be replaced by another team if they refuse to travel to India for the T20 World Cup

Read more: https://t.co/R1M0d11BcJ pic.twitter.com/OKGbk9rv7n

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 21, 2026

The ICC said that,

“Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its player’s involvement in a domestic league. This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The ICC’s venue and scheduling decisions are guided by objective threat assessments, host guarantees, and the tournament’s agreed terms of participation, which apply uniformly to all 20 competing nations. In the absence of any independent security findings that materially compromise the safety of the Bangladesh team, the ICC is unable to relocate fixtures.

Doing so would carry significant logistical and scheduling consequences for other teams and fans worldwide, and would also create far-reaching precedent-related challenges that risk undermining the neutrality, fairness, and integrity of ICC governance. The ICC remains committed to acting in good faith, upholding consistent standards, and safeguarding the collective interests of the global game,”