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Will ICC Remove Bangladesh's Test Status After BCB Boycotts T20 World Cup 2026?
Cricket Gully | January 25, 2026 2:39 PM CST

The Bangladesh government announced their intention to skip the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 which will be held in India next month. The government made this announcement to the public instead of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) issuing the statement.

 

After the announcement, the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland for the tournament. The ICC made a significant decision when they chose to replace a team which had already qualified to participate in the tournament. The current T20I rankings of Scotland allowed them to take the available spot in the competition.

 

BCB Set to Face Huge Losses

 

The BCB expects to lose a substantial amount because of the boycott. The financial loss alone is large because ICC events bring large payments to boards. The financial impact extends beyond losses which relate to cricket activities. The T20 World Cup will result in a drop for Bangladesh because they will miss the chance to compete. ICC events provide essential game time and ranking points together with exposure to players.

 

The ICC might decide to revoke Bangladesh's right to co-host the 2031 ODI World Cup according to current concerns. Bangladesh and India planned to co-host the event with a third partner. The ICC will search for another co-hosting nation to replace Bangladesh if BCB and ICC continue their dispute.

 

Before the boycott was confirmed, there was talk that the ICC could even remove the Test status of Bangladesh. The ICC has not officially announced anything regarding this situation. The cricket community has raised questions about the situation.

 

The current position of Bangladesh places them in eighth at the World Test Championship (WTC). They have played two games and lost one.

 

The BCB had earlier written to the ICC asking for stronger security plans for matches in India. Bangladesh officials pointed to border tension as the reason behind their stand. They requested the ICC to transfer their matches to Sri Lanka. The ICC did not accept this request, saying the planned security in India was good enough. The ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland after the boycott decision was made by the organization.

 

The first Test match of Bangladesh occurred in Dhaka against India during June 2000. Bangladesh achieved Test-playing nation status through their participation in that match. India helped Bangladesh gain Test status by convincing other cricket nations inside the ICC.

 

Also Read | Watch: Butterfly Effect in Cricket as Scotland Get Surprise Entry into T20 World Cup 2026

 

Can the ICC Remove Test Status of Bangladesh?

 

The ICC holds authority to revoke Test status from any nation. The ICC possesses the authority to grant or remove Test status from national teams. The apex cricketing body grants Test status only to Full Members who have this right. Only Full Members can participate in official Test matches.

 

The possibility exists but it happens so infrequently that it seems unlikely to occur. Test status is earned through many years of work, performance, and cricket growth. The ICC requires members to vote on Test status removal after they present substantial proof. Test status removal occurs under specific circumstances because only members of the ICC can decide these matters.

 

The ICC may consider removing Test status from a nation when:

 

  • The nation experiences severe problems in board work and management.
  • the nation decides to boycott cricket events without proper justification.
  • The nation commits repeated violations of ICC regulatory requirements.

 

The ICC would reserve status removal until board members reached a second violation of their established rules. The ICC would first provide warning to the board while they used supervision mode to monitor them until problems got fixed.

 

No Test nation has lost Test status after becoming a Full Member. Zimbabwe suspended Test matches but maintained their Test status throughout this period. The ICC can suspend a board but they have never executed permanent Test status removal.

 

The ICC has not announced any plan to revoke Bangladesh's Test status. The situation remains tense and the situation will require more developments before it reaches a resolution.


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