ICC releases official statement on T20 WC fiasco

• Bangladesh replaced by Scotland in T20 World Cup over security fears.
• ICC confirmed no credible security threat in India.
• Scotland is the next highest ranked T20I team.

New Delhi: The matter surrounding Bangladesh’s participation in next month’s T20 World Cup finally ended on Saturday with the International Cricket Council

(ICC) replacing the team with Scotland for the marquee event beginning February 7.

Despite trying to convince the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) with regards to the security arrangements for their players in India, Bangladesh were reluctant to travel which resulted in their axing. Scotland has now been called up to take Bangladesh’s place in Group C joining England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies.

While Bangladesh were pressuring hard to change their World Cup venue to Sri Lanka, the ICC categorically refused to do it citing issues with rescheduling the tournament at the eleventh hour, with just about couple of weeks remaining for the beginning.

Finally on Saturday evening, the ICC released a complete statement regarding the same along with an updated fixture list for the showpiece event. Here’s what the statement said:

ICC’s full statement

‘The decision follows an extensive process undertaken by the ICC to address concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of its scheduled matches in India,’ ICC’s statement read.

“Over a period of more than three weeks, the ICC engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner, including meetings held both via video conference and in-person.’

‘As part of this process, the ICC reviewed the concerns cited by the BCB, commissioned and considered independent security assessments from internal and external experts, and shared detailed security and operational plans covering federal and state arrangements, as well as enhanced and escalating security protocols for the event. These assurances were reiterated at several stages, including during discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board.’

‘The ICC’s assessments concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India. In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule.’

The updated fixtures list for the Men’s #T20WorldCup 2026 📋

More details ➡️ https://t.co/M61nOzx2fF pic.twitter.com/deynITDuV3

— ICC (@ICC) January 24, 2026

Scotland are the next-highest ranked T20I team that had originally missed T20 World Cup qualification. They are currently ranked 14th, which in fact is ahead of competing teams Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, USA, Canada, Oman and Italy.