Bangladesh out of T20 World Cup after ICC’s refusal to change venues

Bangladesh out of T20 World Cup after ICC’s refusal to change venuesScotland replace Bangladesh after the BCB’s request to relocate its games from India is turned down by the ICC.Published On 24 Jan 2026The International Cricket Council (ICC) has kicked Bangladesh out of the upcoming T20 World Cup and replaced them with Scotland because of an impasse over security concerns that Bangladesh had raised about playing in India.Following weeks of deliberation and dialogue, the ICC said on Saturday that Bangladesh will be replaced in Group C of the tournament.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4India-Bangladesh tensions rock cricket, as sport turns diplomatic weaponlist 2 of 4‘I didn’t set out to break records’: Pakistan’s first female MMA fighterlist 3 of 4Senegal, Morocco, play out an embarrassing AFCON 2025 final in Rabatlist 4 of 4Yin-yang of tennis: ‘Sincaraz’ rivalry back in focus before Australian Openend of list“Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to participate in the tournament per the published match schedule,” the ICC said in its statement.“The ICC, in the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected the BCB’s demand to move its matches from India to Sri Lanka,” it added.The tournament, which is due to begin on February 7, is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, but all of Bangladesh’s group fixtures were allocated to venues in India.The Tigers were scheduled to play on the opening day of the tournament, on February 7, when they would have faced the West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. They were set to play two other group-stage games at the same venue before their final Group C fixture against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.However, the BCB requested the ICC, on January 4, move their fixtures out of India.The move followed the abrupt removal of star fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) upon instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), due to the ongoing political tensions between the two nations.