ICC to Replace Bangladesh at T20 World Cup if They Refuse to Travel to India

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a final decision that Bangladesh must travel to India and play their matches there in order to participate in the T20 World Cup. In a press release sent on Wednesday evening, the ICC stated that Bangladesh’s request for a venue change has been completely rejected and that the team must take part in the World Cup in India as per the previously announced schedule.

Earlier, Bangladesh’s request was rejected in a vote during an online meeting of the ICC Board. According to cricket website ESPNcricinfo, only one additional vote was cast in favour of Bangladesh. Although the ICC gave the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) one day to communicate its final position, the application was effectively rejected.

The ICC said that the decision was taken after reviewing all security assessments, including evaluations conducted by an independent security agency. The report clearly stated that there is no credible security threat to Bangladesh players, officials, media personnel, or spectators at any venue in India.

The press release further noted that changing the schedule and venues at such a late stage before the tournament is not realistic. It added that altering the schedule without the presence of any credible security risk would set a negative precedent for future ICC events and could undermine the organisation’s neutrality and global governance framework.

Earlier, both the BCB and the Bangladesh government had stated that Bangladesh would not travel to India due to security concerns. Although the BCB requested that Bangladesh’s matches be shifted to Sri Lanka, the ICC rejected the proposal. According to the ICC, detailed information regarding comprehensive security arrangements—coordinated by central and state law enforcement agencies—has been shared with the BCB.

The ICC also stated that the same policy applies to all 20 participating teams. Granting special concessions to any one team would raise questions about the organisation’s impartiality.

If Bangladesh ultimately refuses to travel to India to play, the country may be excluded from the 2026 T20 World Cup. In that case, ESPNcricinfo reported that Scotland could be included as a replacement team based on rankings.