Bangladesh cricket team news LIVE: ICC officially replaces Bangladesh with Scotland in T20 World Cup 2026

“It was formally announced on Saturday that Bangladesh will no longer compete in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to participate in the tournament per the published match schedule,” ICC stated in a release.

“Scotland has been called up to take Bangladesh’s place in Group C, joining England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies."

The Bangladesh Cricket Board held a meeting today in Mirpur. Not sure what this was about though.

India cricketer Ajinkya Rahane opines its Bangladesh's loss. “India is the safest place. We keep the protocols here, the hospitality in India we all know, the security, the police forces are so proactive. I think it's one of the safest places to play cricket. I am surprised to see, the players probably will miss out on that. It's Bangladesh's loss. In future, if India doesn't go to Bangladesh, it's going to kill Bangladesh cricket. Players probably would like to come here and participate. I am really feeling sad for the Bangladesh team, the players and their fans,” Rahane told Cricbuzz.

Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam stated that the cricketers respect Bangladesh government's decision. “Going to the World Cup or not going is not in our hands. The guardians of our cricket have made a decision, and we respect that. There is no point in talking too much about something we don’t control,” said Shoriful Islam.

According to HT, the ICC has already sent a letter to the BCB, confirming that Scotland have replaced Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2026. “The ICC has sent a letter to the BCB confirming that they have been shown the door following their refusal to travel to India. Scotland has also been informed about being picked as the replacement. The formalities have been done,” ICC sources told HT.

This will be Scotland's seventh T20 World Cup appearance after 2007, 2009, 2016, 2021, 2022 and 2024. Their best performance in a T20 World Cup has been in 2021 when they qualified for the Super 12s.

According to Cricbuzz, Scotland have officially replaced Bangladesh in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. However, there is no official word from the ICC as yet. It is likely the announcement will be made today itself. That means, Scotland will play their group matches in Kolkata at the Eden Gardens (3) and Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium (1).

The ICC may announce Cricket Scotland as a replacement for Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2026 soon. According to a TOI report, the ICC has rejected BCB's last appeal to allow them to play only on Sri Lankan soil. The BCB had written to ICC's Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), and challenged ICC's decision to turn down their request for playing in India.

Bangladesh batting coach Mohammed Ashraful stated that the issues between BCCI and BCB will get sorted after a new government will come after 22 days in Bangladesh. “A new government will come after 22 days and I think the concerned authorities from both countries (Bangladesh and India) will sort things out. If a solution comes after that, I think there won’t be a long-term impact. When the new government comes, it will not take responsibility for the decisions of this government," Ashraful told Daily Star. “Politics should not come into the game, we don’t want that. Not playing in the World Cup is upsetting. But I’m hopeful that the two countries will make things right through dialogue after the new government comes in Bangladesh.”

The BCCI president Mithun Manhas refrains from commenting on the Bangladesh's T20 World Cup 2026 standoff. "I have come here for the second T20 match between India and New Zealand in Raipur," Manhas said.

“Bangladesh’s decision is not good for its cricket or its players. There is no real security issue, as teams have played in India before with strong security in place, so security is just an excuse. This decision will hurt Bangladesh in the long run. Avoiding India is a major loss, while the game will continue with other teams playing. Overall, this is not good for Bangladesh cricket,” former India cricketer Madan Lal said.

Bangladeshi journalists say that the players were intent to play the World Cup. With all possibility of Bangladesh not playing in the upcoming edition, this will be the first time they will miss a T20 World Cup.

After the meeting between the players and the Sports Advisor, Bangladesh Litton Das keeps mum on the whole issue. “For now, going home.”

Bangladesh are likely to replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup 2026. Although the BCB has gone to the ICC for one last time, but it is highly unlikely that the world body will change their stance. The ICC on Wednesday has already stated that it is not feasible for shifting in venues at the last moment.

The meeting between Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul and Bangladesh players, ended with no clear solution coming out. In a meeting that went for more than an hour, it was decided that Bangladesh won't travel to India for the T20 World Cup 2026. Nazrul said, "We are still hopeful that ICC will find a way."

BCB president Aminul Islam says “We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka. They did give us a 24 hour ultimatum but a global body can't really do that. ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup. It will be their loss. ICC is calling Sri Lanka co-hosts. They are not co-hosts. It is a hybrid model. Some of the things I heard in the ICC meeting was shocking.”

The decision of Bangladesh team refusing to travel to India was completely our government's decision, says Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul tells reports on Thursday.

The meeting between the sports adviser and Bangladesh players has ended. Sports advisor Asif Nazrul is addressing media. He says, “We all wanted to play in the World Cup. We have noticed that the security threat in India has not gone. The ICC has not taking a stance on the actual matter. The ICC has reiterated their standard security procedure. We are still hopeful that ICC will find a way.”

Bangladesh spinner Mahedi Hasan informed that all the T20 World Cup-bound players were individually messaged and were told to be present in the meeting with the Bangladesh's Sports Advisor. “Every player in the World Cup team was personally texted about the meeting. When we get there, the mystery will be revealed,” Hasan told local reporters.

A meeting between Bangladesh players and the cabinet is underway at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dhaka. The BCB could announce their decision soon. The players have started to arrive. The likes of Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Jaker Ali and Saif Hassan, have all arrived for the meeting. We should expect a announcement today. Sports adviser Asif Nazrul, BCB president Aminul Islam and CEO Nizamuddin are also present. The meeting started at 3 PM Bangladesh time.

Former captain and now a batting coach, Mohammad Ashraful, also reiterated about playing in the T20 World Cup 2026 irrespective of the country. "We just want to play. It doesn't matter to us in which country we are playing. All we want is to play," Ashraful told Livemint.

“As cricketers, we always want to play. And when it’s an event like the World Cup, of course we want to be there. These tournaments don’t come often. World Cups are rare, especially the 50-over format which comes every four years. I see it as a big opportunity for us to play good cricket. I don’t really know what is happening internally, so it’s difficult for me to comment. But as players, we definitely want to play,” Najmul Hossain Shanto said.

The BCB vs ICC feud has been going on since the start of this month when Mustafizur Rahman was removed from IPL. Since then a lot has gone down the line. Here's a complete timeline of events.

Bangldesh captain Litton Das said, “The World Cup is still a long way away. We're not even sure yet whether we'll go to the World Cup at all. If we had known who our group opponents were or which country we were going to, that would have helped. Until now, no player knows which country we are going to or whom we will play against. Like me, the whole of Bangladesh is now in uncertainty.”

Bangladesh have so far participated in all the editions of the T20 World Cup. Their best finish wasin 2024 edition when Bangladesh finished at 7th. If Bangladesh do not take part in this edition, this won't be the first time a team are withdrawing from an ICC event due to political/security reasons.

BCB President Aminul Islam while reacting to the ICC ultimatum said, "I asked the ICC board for time to talk to my government for one last time. They said it's a valid point, and gave me 24 or 48 hours to get back to them. I don't want to put pressure on the government. We know that India is not secure for us. We remain in the stance that we want to play in Sri Lanka. I know the ICC denied us but we will talk to the government one more time. I will inform the ICC about the government's feedback," he added

If Bangladesh do not agree to ICC's ultimatum, they are unlikely to be able to participate in the upcoming marquee tournament and could be replaced by Scotland in the World Cup.

Pakistan had backed Bangladesh's request for change of venue from India to Sri Lanka during the ICC emergency board meeting, as per a report by TelecomAsia.

Quoting a source inside the PCB, the publication stated,“Pakistan backed Bangladesh’s stance on principles because, on India’s insistence, their matches were moved out from Pakistan to Dubai, but the same reason by Bangladesh was not accepted, which is disappointing,"

Bangladesh cricket team news live: Bangladesh government's sports advisor Asif Nazrul is set to meet the national team players at 3PM today. The meeting is set to update the players regarding the ongoing situation regading the country's participation in the T20 World Cup and also to hear the players views

Bangladesh cricket team news live: Asked about the T20 World Cup, Bangladesh skipper Litton Das said, “It's not safe for me to answer.”

"Are you sure we're going to the World Cup?" he added

Bangladesh cricket team news live: While ICC's ultimatum is making the headlines right now, the last flash point for BCB was the removal of Mustafizure Rahman from the IPL. The left handed pacer was part of th KKR squad but was later removed from the side at the request of BCCI.

Bangladesh had then went on to cancel their India tour along with stopping the broadcast of IPL in the country.

Bangladesh cricket team news live: As per a report by PTI, the decision to reject BCB's request for relocation was taken after ICC Board meeting held via video conference where 14 out of the 16 members rejected Bangladesh's request.

"Of all the members, only BCB and Pakistan voted in favour of the relocation request while all other voted against it. Bangladesh was given time till January 21 to confirm its participation but they have been given one more day by the ICC Board to state their position," the news agency quoted an unnamed ICC official as saying

Bangladesh cricket team news live: Bangladesh are placed in the Group C of the T20 World Cup aong with teams like Nepal, Italy, West Indies and England.

As per the current schedule, Litton Das' side are scheduled to play Nepal, Italy and England at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata. While they have one match scheduled against Nepal at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

Bangladesh cricket team news live: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam had recently claimed that the board would not lose any revenue if Bangladesh did not play T20 World Cup.

"There will be no loss for the Bangladesh Cricket Board if we don’t take part in the World Cup. Up to 2027, our revenue will not be hampered because in the 2022 ICC financial meeting, this was already fixed," Islam said

Bangladesh cricket team news live: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam had recently said that he was hoping for a ‘miracle’ as the country's participation in the T20 World Cup hung in the balance.

"I am hoping for a miracle from the ICC. Who doesn't want to play the World Cup? The meeting went on for an hour and a half. We explained to the ICC board the reasons for our decision before the voting began. We didn't want to go into voting. We stepped back," Islam was quoted by Cricbuzz as saying

Bangladesh cricket team news live: Asked the question on T20 World Cup row, Litton Das said, “The World Cup is still a long way away. We're not even sure yet whether we'll go to the World Cup at all,”

“If we had known who our group opponents were or which country we were going to, that would have helped. Until now, no player knows which country we are going to or whom we will play against. Like me, the whole of Bangladesh is now in uncertainty,” he added