T20 World Cup 2026: ICC Votes To Replace Bangladesh If BCB Refuses To Play In India

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to notify the Bangladesh government that if they continue to refuse to travel to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup, another team will replace them. 

The ICC Board voted in favour of this decision. The BCB has one more day to respond. If Bangladesh does not participate, Scotland, who failed to qualify, is likely to replace them in Group C.

“The decision was taken following an ICC Board meeting on Wednesday, 21 January via video conference, which was convened to discuss the way forward after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had asked that its matches be moved out of India to Sri Lanka.

The decision was reached after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, all of which indicated there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any tournament venues in the country,” the ICC said in a statement.

“It was noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events and undermine its neutrality as a global governing body.” 

“The ICC management also engaged in a series of correspondences and meetings with the BCB in a bid to resolve the impasse, sharing detailed information on the event security plan, including layered federal and state law-enforcement support.

An ICC spokesperson’s statement in relation to the decision read: “Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue, with the clear objective of enabling Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament. During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India.”

“Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its player’s involvement in a domestic league. This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

“The ICC’s venue and scheduling decisions are guided by objective threat assessments, host guarantees, and the tournament’s agreed terms of participation, which apply uniformly to all 20 competing nations. In the absence of any independent security findings that materially compromise the safety of the Bangladesh team, the ICC is unable to relocate fixtures. Doing so would carry significant logistical and scheduling consequences for other teams and fans worldwide, and would also create far-reaching precedent-related challenges that risk undermining the neutrality, fairness, and integrity of ICC governance.

“The ICC remains committed to acting in good faith, upholding consistent standards, and safeguarding the collective interests of the global game.”

BCB had earlier said that they had requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift their matches to Sri Lanka following pacer Mustafizur Rahman’s exit from the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Mustafizur Rahman was bought by KKR for INR 9.2 Cr in the IPL 2026 mini auction but the franchise was later asked to release the pacer after attracting a lot of heat. Shah Rukh Khan also faced criticism. Hindu seer Jagadguru Rambhadracharya slammed SRK and called him traitor.

“His (Shah Rukh’s) approach has always been as that of a traitor.” Pointing to atrocities on Hindus in the neighbouring country, Jagadguru Rambhadracharya called this move of the 60-year-old Bollywood icon anti-national and said, “It is unfortunate (Shah Rukh Khan took Bangladeshi cricketer in KKR for IPL 2026), but he will do so because he is considered a hero,” he said during an interview with PTI.

“His character has always been questionable and anti-national,” he added.

BCB had informed ICC that the team won’t travel to India for the T20 World Cup 2026 citing security concerns in a mail, as reported by NewsX.com earlier.

“An emergency meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was held this afternoon to discuss recent developments related to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The Board reviewed the situation in detail, taking into account developments over the last 24 hours and expressed deep concern over the overall circumstances surrounding the participation of the Bangladesh National Team in matches scheduled to be played in India,” the BCB said in a statement later.

“Following a thorough assessment of the prevailing situation and the growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India and considering the advice from the Bangladesh Government, the Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions.”

“In light of this decision, the BCB has formally requested the International Cricket Council (ICC), as the event authority, to consider relocating all of Bangladesh’s matches to a venue outside India. The Board believes that such a step is necessary to safeguard the safety and well-being of Bangladeshi players, team officials, Board members and other stakeholders and to ensure that the team can participate in the tournament in a secure and appropriate environment. The Bangladesh Cricket Board looks forward to the ICC’s understanding of the situation and an urgent response on this matter,” it further added.

Also Read: Bangladesh Likely To Play All Their Matches In India