Bad news for Bangladesh ahead of T20 World Cup 2026, ICC makes HUGE decision to…
The ICC board has started its meeting to make a final decision on Bangladesh’s request to move their T20 World Cup 2026 matches away from India. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was given a deadline of Wednesday, January 21, to confirm whether they want to play their group matches in Kolkata and Mumbai or be replaced in the tournament, which starts on February 7.
What was the decision taken by the ICC?
According to a report on the ESPNCricinfo website, the ICC board held a vote on whether Bangladesh should be replaced in the T20 World Cup 2026 if they do not play their matches in India. In a major setback for the BCB, most of the ICC board members voted that Bangladesh should be replaced by Scotland if they refuse to play in India.
“It is understood the ICC has told the BCB to inform the Bangladesh government that if Bangladesh continues to refuse to travel to India to play its matches in the 2026 T20 World Cup, then they will be replaced by another team at the tournament. That decision was followed by a vote, where the majority of the ICC Board was in favour of having a replacement,” the ESPNCricinfo report stated.
Bangladesh Cricket Board has been given one more day
The report also said that the Bangladesh Cricket Board has been given one more day, until Thursday, to decide if they want to change their mind about playing in India.
If Bangladesh still refuse to play in India, they are likely to be replaced by Scotland – the highest-ranked team that did not qualify for the World Cup. Scotland missed out on the T20 World Cup 2026, hosted by India and Sri Lanka, after finishing behind the Netherlands, Italy, and Jersey in the European qualifiers.
The ICC board meeting is being attended by directors from all Full Member countries
The ICC board meeting is being attended by directors from all Full Member countries. Along with ICC chair Jay Shah, the attendees include BCB president Aminul Islam, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, Sri Lanka Cricket president Shammi Silva, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird, Zimbabwe Cricket president Tavenga Mukuhlani, Cricket West Indies president Kishore Shallow, Cricket Ireland chair Brian MacNeice, Cricket New Zealand representative Roger Twose, England Cricket Board chair Richard Thompson, Cricket South Africa representative Mohammed Moosajee and Mirwais Ashraf from Cricket Afghanistan.