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Bangladesh's T20 World Cup 2026 venue-shift drama appears to be nearing its conclusion, and it may not be what the nation would have hoped for. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to send its team to India for the tournament after fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the IPL, and demanded their matches be shifted to Sri Lanka.

Meetings have taken place to resolve the dispute in recent weeks, but now, according to a report by ESPNCricinfo, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has given Bangladesh a deadline of January 21, 2026 to make a final call.

Scotland Could Replace Bangladesh In T20 World Cup

The ESPNCricinfo report also states that if the BCB still decides against playing in India by this deadline, their team's spot in the T20 World Cup is likely to be taken up by Scotland as per current rankings.

In their request to have their match venues shifted, Bangladesh had cited safety and security concerns for their players, but the ICC is said to have assured the board that there was no threat to their players in India.

Notably, the report further states that Bangladesh had even suggested an alternative of having their T20 World Cup group spot swapped with Ireland, which would have seen them play all of their group stage fixtures in Sri Lanka, but the ICC denied this request as well.

It is worth noting that Pakistan won't be playing in India either, but this decision was made well ahead of the tournament. Bangladesh's request has come at the last minute instead, with two phases of ticket sales already conducted.

Changing match venues now could, hence, prove a logistical hassle for the ICC and the host nations, which seems to be the reason behind Bangladesh' potential exit from the tournament over refusal to travel to India.