Scotland are set to feature in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in place of Bangladesh, with the tournament beginning February 7 in India and Sri Lanka, sources said, Cricbuzz reported.
After the International Cricket Council (ICC) gave the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) a 24-hour deadline a couple of days back and on Saturday it finally cracked the whip.
It was only a matter of time before Bangladesh was replaced by the Associate country from the northwestern European country in the British isles and the final call was taken on Saturday morning when it is learnt that the ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta formally wrote to the ICC Board that the demands of Bangladesh were not in order with the ICC policy.
In the letter, marked to all the members of the Board, Gupta is believed to have mentioned that the BCB was not complying with the ICC Board's decision and that there was no other way than to invite another country, Scotland in this case, in place of Bangladesh for the marquee event. The copy, naturally, has been marked to Aminul Islam, the BCB president, who is a member of the ICC Board.
Simultaneously, Gupta is understood to have also written to Cricket Scotland sending them the formal invite to take part in the championship to be played in India and Sri Lanka.
The swap means Scotland will now be placed in Group C in the preliminary stage of the competition and will play against West Indies (February 7), Italy (February 9) and England (February 14) in Kolkata, before travelling west to take on Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.
bd-pratidin/GR
