The International Cricket Council (ICC) has excluded Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup 2026. The Bangladesh team had refused to come to India citing security reasons, after which the ICC took this tough decision. ICC has included Scotland in this tournament in place of Bangladesh.
On January 23, ICC had given 24 hours time to Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to clarify whether the team will come to India or not. But after not getting any clear answer within the stipulated time, ICC took a big decision and declared Scotland as the replacement team.
After this decision, the debate has intensified in the cricket world, former captain of Pakistan shahid afridi Accused ICC of adopting double standards. Afridi wrote in a post shared on his
Shahid Afridi said that the rules should be the same for all countries and such treatment of Bangladesh players and their crores of fans is wrong. Afridi wrote, ‘Continuity and fairness are the foundation of global cricket administration. The players of Bangladesh and millions of cricket fans there deserve respect, not double standards. ICC should build bridges, not walls.
Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie also raised questions on the ICC’s decision. He asked that when India was allowed a neutral venue in the Champions Trophy, then why Bangladesh did not get this option in the T20 World Cup. He said that ICC should give a clear answer on this decision. However, Gillespie later deleted his post.
What explanation did ICC give?
The ICC said it took Bangladesh’s security concerns seriously. ICC called for reports from internal and external security experts. After reviewing these reports, the ICC concluded that there is no real security threat to the Bangladeshi team, officials or fans in India.
As soon as Bangladesh was out, Cricket Scotland accepted ICC’s invitation. Scotland said in its official statement that they are grateful to the ICC for this opportunity and the team is preparing to come to India immediately. Scottish players want to adapt themselves to the local conditions before the tournament. T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled to start from 7th February and the title match is scheduled for 8th March.
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