The International Cricket Council (ICC) has formally announced that Scotland would replace Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after the global cricket body rejected BCB repeated request to relocate its matches from India due to security concerns.
In a statement, the ICC said: “Scotland has been called up to take Bangladesh’s place in Group C, joining England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies.”
The announcement comes after the ICC, in the absence of any “credible or verifiable security threat” to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected BCB’s request to move their matches from India to Sri Lanka, who are co-hosts of the tournament which commences on February 7, read the statement.
The decision follows an extensive process undertaken by the ICC to address concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of its scheduled matches in India. Over a period of more than three weeks, the ICC engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner, including meetings held both via video conference and in-person, the statement added.
As part of this process, the ICC said it reviewed the concerns cited by the BCB, commissioned and considered independent security assessments from internal and external experts, and shared detailed security and operational plans covering federal and state arrangements, as well as enhanced and escalating security protocols for the event.
"These assurances were reiterated at several stages, including during discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board."
The ICC’s assessments concluded that there was no "credible or verifiable security threat" to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India. In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule, as per the statement.
The ICC also noted the importance of preserving the integrity and sanctity of the tournament schedule, safeguarding the interests of all participating teams and fans, and avoiding the establishment of precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events.
Following its meeting on Wednesday, the IBC Board requested the BCB to confirm, within a 24-hour timeframe, whether Bangladesh would participate in the tournament as scheduled. As no confirmation was received within the stipulated deadline, the ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team.
Scotland are the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament. They are currently ranked 14th, ahead of seven teams already in the tournament, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, the United States of America (USA), Canada, Oman and Italy.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media today, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will take decision in line with the Government of Pakistan’s direction.
“Prime minister [Shehbaz Sharif] is currently not in the country. We will announce the final decision after he [PM] returns to the country,” Naqvi, who is also the chairman of PCB, said while responding to a question related to what would be Pakistan’s stance on ICC decision regarding Bangladesh.
Terming the ICC’s decision unfair, Naqvi said he had stated in the ICC Board meeting as well that it cannot make decisions based on “double standards”.
“Bangladesh is a major stakeholder and it should be made part of the tournament,” he added.
