Scotland will replace Bangladesh at the 2026 T20 World Cup, the ICC announced in a press release Saturday. Earlier, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had refused to send the team to India, citing security concerns.
Bangladesh had proposed that their matches be moved to Sri Lanka, but the ICC rejected the request. The governing body’s decision has drawn sharp criticism from former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi.
In a post on X, Afridi wrote, “As a former international cricketer who has played in Bangladesh and in ICC events, I’m deeply disappointed by today’s ICC’s inconsistency. It accepted India’s security concerns for not touring Pakistan in 2025, yet appears unwilling to apply the same understanding to Bangladesh.”
Last year, India declined to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. The ICC subsequently accepted India’s demand and staged all of India’s matches in Dubai. Although all other participating teams went to Pakistan, they had to travel to Dubai to play against India.
Stating that the ICC has failed to apply the same policy in the cases of India and Bangladesh, Afridi added, “Consistency and fairness are the foundation of global cricket governance. Bangladesh’s players and millions of its fans deserve respect- not mixed standards. The ICC should build bridges, not burn them.”
Earlier, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi echoed similar sentiments. Speaking to the media in Lahore on Saturday, he said, “Bangladesh has been treated unfairly. I said the same in the board meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC). You cannot have double standards, where one country can make whatever decision whenever and do the total opposite for another country.”
In its press release, the ICC said it had rejected the BCB’s request to move Bangladesh’s matches to Sri Lanka after finding no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India. The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will begin on 7 February.
The ICC statement added that with the tournament so close, accommodating the BCB’s request was not realistic, leaving the governing body with no option but to take what it described as a difficult decision.