• ICC says Bangladesh failed to confirm participation within deadline
• Pakistan regrets ‘unfair’ ICC decision, awaits PM’s return to make final move
• Scotland says excited to participate, preparing to reach India soon

LAHORE: Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup after the South Asian side refused to travel to co-hosts India, the International Cricket Council said on Saturday, with Pak­i­s­tan calling out the “unfair treatment”.

ICC’s decision follows weeks of uncertainty, during which the Bangladesh Cricket Board repeatedly insisted it would not play its scheduled matches in India, citing safety concerns following soured political relations between the neighbours.

Bangladesh had asked the ICC to move their games to the tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka instead, but the governing body rejected the demand, saying there was “no credible or verifiable threat to the safety” of the team.

“Following a meeting on Wednes­day, the Bangladesh Cricket Board had been given a 24-hour timeframe to confirm whether its team would participate in India as scheduled,” the ICC said in a statement.

“As no confirmation was received within the deadline, the ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team.”

Scotland have replaced Bangladesh in Group ‘C’, joining England, Nepal, Italy and West Indies.

“Scotland are the next-highest ranked T20 international team that had originally missed T20 World Cup qualification. They are currently ranked 14th, which in fact is ahead of competing teams Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, the United States, Canada, Oman and Italy,” the ICC added.

Scotland happy to participate

Scotland’s national cricket body said it had accepted the ICC’s invitation to compete in the fifth straight T20 World Cup.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Scotland’s players to compete on the global stage in front of millions of

supporters,” Cricket Scotland chief executive Trudy Lindblade said in a statement.

“We also acknowledge this opportunity has arisen out of challenging and unique circumstances. Our squad have been training for some weeks in preparation for upcoming tours and are now preparing to arrive in India imminently to acclimatise to local conditions.”

There was no immediate comment by the BCB but Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said at a news conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore that Bangladesh was being treated unfairly.

The T20 World Cup begins on Feb 7, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Previous tensions

The dispute between New Delhi and Dhaka erupted this month when the Indian cricket board ordered the Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman.

Bangladesh responded by banning IPL broadcasts in the country and demanding to play World Cup matches in Sri Lanka. Mustafizur’s removal followed online outrage by right-wing Indian Hindus who invoked alleged attacks on a fellow community in Bangladesh. Dhaka maintains that Indian media has exaggerated the scale of the violence.

Bangladesh will hold elections during the tournament, its first since a mass uprising in 2024 toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, an ally of New Delhi. Political relations have since soured between Bangladesh and India, where Hasina fled after she was ousted.

The standoff mirrors previous tensions in South Asian cricket.

For the Champions Trophy last year, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) stuck to its policy of not touring Pakistan because of the strained political ties between the bitter neighbours, who play each other only in ICC events.

Like for the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan, a ‘hybrid model’ was agreed on under which India were allowed to play their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai to salvage the tournament.

Under the agreement running until 2027, Pakistan will play in a neutral venue for any ICC event, including the T20 World Cup where they are scheduled to play their matches in Sri Lanka.

PM’s return awaited

Mohsin Naqvi said PCB’s stance on the situation would be according to instructions provided by the government. “Bangladesh has been treated unfairly,” he told reporters. “I said the same in the board meeting of the ICC. You cannot have double standards, where one country can make whatever decision whenever and do the total opposite for another country.

“That is why we have taken the stand that Bangladesh is being treated unfairly and should be allowed to play the World Cup in any case. They are major stakeholders [in world cricket] and this injustice should not be done.

“We are waiting for the prime minister to return [from Davos] before making a final decision.” He was of the view that Bangladesh should have benefited from a similar ‘hybrid’ arrangement as between India and Pakistan. “…Bangladesh is the same member as Pakistan. And our stance is that if you have done this favour with Pakistan and India, then you should do the same with Bangladesh,” he said. “The main reason for this is that one country cannot dictate to another. And if this dictation is attempted, then Pakistan definitely has its own stance.”

Asked whether there was a “Plan B” for a scenario in which Pakistan would also not play the T20 World Cup, he quipped, “Let the decision come first; we have Plan A, B, C, D.”

Additional input by Reuters/AFP

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2026