The International Cricket Council has formally informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board that Bangladesh has been replaced by Scotland in the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup after it refused to travel to India.

Since January 4, the interim government in Bangladesh has been saying the country’s cricket team does not want to travel to India for the world cup, citing what it alleged was a “violent communal policy” of the Indian cricket board.

This came after the Kolkata Knight Riders on January 3 dropped Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from its squad ahead of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League, following instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

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Rahman had been dropped amid diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka after the killing of a Hindu man in Bangladesh in December. India has repeatedly condemned hostilities against religious minorities in the country.

Bangladesh had been urging the International Cricket Council to shift its matches to Sri Lanka, where Pakistan is also scheduled to play.

Bangladesh was in Group C alongside England, West Indies, Italy and Nepal. The team was scheduled to play its first three group stage matches in Kolkata followed by one in Mumbai.

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On Wednesday, the International Cricket Council said that the Bangladesh Cricket Board had repeatedly linked its participation in the tournament to an “isolated and unrelated development” concerning one of its player’s involvement in a domestic league”.

The linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework, it had said at the time.

Security assessments, including independent reviews, have indicated that there was no threat to Bangladeshi players, media persons, officials and fans at venues in India, the council had said.

Also read: For Hindutva groups, Bangladesh is the new Pakistan