Scotland to replace Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
New Delhi, India, AFP: Scotland will replace Bangladesh at next month’s ICC T20 World Cup, cricket’s governing body said on Saturday, after Bangladesh effectively pulled out of the tournament due to a row over playing matches in India.
“Scotland has been called up to take Bangladesh’s place in Group C, joining England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies,” the International Cricket Council (ICC) said.
The T20 World Cup begins on February 7, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. 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.
Mustafizur’s removal followed online outrage by right-wing Indian Hindus who invoked alleged attacks on a fellow community in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Dhaka maintains that Indian media has exaggerated the scale of the violence.
Bangladesh refused to play their games in India and asked that they be moved to Sri Lanka, but the ICC rejected the appeal, saying there was “no credible or verifiable threat to the safety” of the Bangladesh team. Scotland, the next-highest-ranked T20 team, had originally missed out on T20 World Cup qualification.
Bangladesh will hold elections during the tournament, its first since a mass uprising in 2024 toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a close ally of New Delhi. Political relations have since soured between Bangladesh and India, where Hasina fled after she was ousted.