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T20 World Cup 2026: Bangladesh replaced by Scotland
24 Jan 2026

Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, as per Cricbuzz.

The tournament is scheduled to take place in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

The decision comes after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to change its stance on participating in India, despite being given time by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Here are further details.

Scotland's new group and match schedule
Tournament details

With Bangladesh's exit, Scotland will be part of Group C in the tournament's preliminary stage.

They will face West Indies on February 7, Italy on February 9, and England on February 14 in Kolkata.

After that, they will head to Mumbai to take on Nepal on February 17.

This is a major change for the tournament as it was initially planned with Bangladesh in mind.

BCB's appeal to ICC and its rejection
Appeal response

The BCB had appealed to the ICC's Dispute Resolution Committee, asking for their World Cup matches to be moved from India to Sri Lanka.

However, this request was rejected as the committee doesn't function as an appeal body against ICC decisions.

On Wednesday, in a board meeting, a majority view (14-2) was taken against BCB's demand for Bangladesh's World Cup matches to be moved out of India on security grounds.

BCB's firm stance and ICC's response
Stance clarification

The BCB has maintained its position, linking its participation in the tournament to a single incident involving one of its players in a domestic league.

However, the ICC has rejected this connection, saying it has no bearing on the tournament's security framework or conditions governing participation.

This was part of their statement on Wednesday explaining why they rejected BCB's request.

Scotland featured in the last T20 WC
DYK

Notably, Scotland qualified for the last T20 WC as well, in 2024.

Having been placed in Group B, they defeated Namibia and Oman, besides scoring 90/0 in 10 overs in a washed-out match against England.

Their only loss came against Australia, which was enough to knock them out.

Meanwhile, the Scottish side also featured in the 2007, 2009, 2016, 2021, and 2022 tournaments.

They have seven wins and 13 defeats in the competition (NR: 2).

Poor run in Europe Qualifier
Fact

Meanwhile, Scotland's dreams to officially qualify for the 2026 event had ended after they were eliminated from last year's Europe Qualifier. Having played three concluded games, they lost two and won one. They hence finished fourth in the five-team tournament.