ICC confirms Scotland to replace Bangladesh in T20 World Cup 2026

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially replaced Scotland with Bangladesh in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. After giving a day's notice, ICC didn't get any response from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and hence, decided to move forward with giving Scotland an opportunity to participate in the marquee event as per a report by Cricbuzz. 

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta sent a formal letter to the ICC board members mentioning BCB's failure in responding to the one-day deadline and that, they will move ahead with Scotland. The letter was sent to BCB President Aminul Islam as well since he is a part of the board. ICC didn't want any wrong precedent to be set for the future where any team would demand relocation on such short notice. 

Hence, they had provided with alternatives to BCB before discarding them from the tournament. ICC also gave two different location for Bangladesh's matches but they were in India. Despite making all the efforts, BCB's consistent comparision to India's security concerns over one case forced ICC to take a harsh decision. 

Where will Scotland play in ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026?

The T20 World Cup 2026 is all set to start from February 7 in India and Sri Lanka. Now, Scotland will be in the list of 20 participating teams in the marquee event. They are included Group C in the preliminary stage where they will play West Indies (February 7), Italy (February 9) and England (February 14).

Scotland are currently ranked in No. 14 position in the T20 Rankings. In the previous edition of the World Cup, they finished in third position, equal to England but missed out on qualification because of poor NRR. Hence, considering their performance in previous ICC events and their rank, the board decided to formally include them. ICC CEO Gupta formally sent an official invitation to Scotland Board President on Friday. 

Where to watch T20 World Cup 2026 matches?

Cricket fans in India can watch the T20 World Cup 2026 matches from February 7 online on JioHotstar, via OTTplay Premium.

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