Scotland has accepted an invitation to replace Bangladesh in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, starting on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka, Cricket Scotland announced in Edinburgh on Saturday.
The ICC confirmed earlier on Saturday that Scotland would take Bangladesh’s place in the tournament after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) declined to participate under the published schedule, which required them to play their league stage games in India.
Bangladesh T20 World Cup Boycott Live
Bangladesh had requested to move their group-stage fixtures from India to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns following the release of fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. However, the ICC’s decision ended weeks of uncertainty
after the BCB repeatedly pressed for a venue change and even proposed swapping groups with Ireland.
What Scotland Said?
Cricket Scotland stated that the men’s squad has been training for several weeks ahead of scheduled tours and will now travel to India immediately to acclimatise before the tournament begins. Details regarding squad selection for the tournament will be shared in the coming days.
“I welcomed a call from ICC Chair Jay Shah earlier today confirming that Scotland will receive an invitation to play at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. I was pleased to accept on behalf of our team, who are willing and ready to go. We thank the ICC for this opportunity and look forward to competing with some of the best sides in the world in India in the coming weeks,” said Wilf Walsh, Cricket Scotland Chair, in a statement.
Scotland will now compete against England, Italy, Nepal, and the West Indies in the Group C games – three of which will take place in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. The team enters the T20 World Cup as the next-highest ranked T20I team that had originally missed qualification, finishing fourth in their group.
Currently ranked 14th, Scotland stands ahead of teams like Namibia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, USA, Canada, Oman, and Italy. Interestingly, Scotland participated in the 2009 T20 World Cup in England after Zimbabwe withdrew from the tournament due to political reasons.
“Earlier today, I received correspondence from the ICC asking if our men’s team would play at the Men’s T20 World Cup, and we have accepted. We are grateful to the ICC for extending this invitation. This is an exciting opportunity for Scotland’s players to compete on the global stage in front of millions of supporters.
“We also acknowledge that this opportunity has arisen out of challenging and unique circumstances. Our squad have been training for some weeks in preparation for upcoming tours and are now preparing to arrive in India imminently to acclimatise to local conditions, ready to play and contribute to what should be a fantastic ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” said Trudy Lindblade, Cricket Scotland Chief Executive.
(With inputs from Agencies)
