Scotland to replace Bangladesh in the World Cup, claim Cricbuzz and Cricinfo

According to a report by cricket-focused portal Cricbuzz, the ICC has officially included Scotland in place of Bangladesh in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

They mentioned that communication has taken place from the ICC headquarters in Dubai to the headquarters of Cricket Scotland in Edinburgh.

However, Cricbuzz did not receive any immediate response from Cricket Scotland's CEO, Trudy Lindblade, after attempting to contact her.

The report by Cricbuzz states that a final decision was made on Saturday morning. ICC's CEO, Sanjay Gupta, informed the board members in a letter that Bangladesh's claims are not consistent with ICC policies. Another cricket website, Cricinfo, also reported that Scotland will be taking Bangladesh's place in the World Cup.

Cricbuzz speculates that in the letter sent to all board members, Gupta mentioned that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is not adhering to the ICC Board's decisions and, as a result, there is no option but to invite another country for the T20 World Cup in place of Bangladesh. That country is Scotland.

A copy of this letter was also sent to the BCB President and ICC Board member, Aminul Islam. However, the BCB has not yet commented on the matter.

Last Wednesday, the ICC communicated its final decision: Bangladesh must play in India if it wants to participate in the T20 World Cup. The BCB requested 24 hours from the ICC to discuss the matter with the government.

However, Bangladesh did not change its decision even during this time. If the ICC does not change the venue, Bangladesh's final decision is not to participate in this year's T20 World Cup due to security concerns.

Subsequently, the BCB requested the ICC to refer Bangladesh's claim to an independent Dispute Resolution Committee.

Among the teams that did not initially qualify, Scotland has the highest ranking. Therefore, if Bangladesh does not play, it is expected that Scotland will take their place.

Now, Scotland will play in Group ''C'' of the T20 World Cup instead of Bangladesh. From this group, they will play against the West Indies on 7 February, Italy on 9 February, and England on 14 February in Kolkata. On 17 February, they will play against Nepal in Mumbai.

On 3 January, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) excluded Mustafiz from the IPL due to threats from extremist groups in India.

The BCB questioned how India could ensure the safety of the Bangladesh team and its supporters and journalists if it could not guarantee the safety of a player.

They demanded that Bangladesh’s matches be relocated to Sri Lanka, the other host of the tournament. However, in the ICC board meeting, the majority of member countries voted against changing the venue.