How a Bangladesh exit brought a European twist to the T20 World Cup 2026

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has a new entrant after Scotland were added to the tournament as a late replacement for Bangladesh, whose refusal to play matches in India forced the ICC to redraw the group-stage line-up weeks before the competition begins.

The tournament is set to begin from February 7, with finals scheduled for March 8.

Scotland's late entry after Bangladesh's removal

Scotland were added to the tournament when the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to play their group matches in India and asked for them to be moved to Sri Lanka. The International Cricket Council (ICC) reviewed independent security assessments and concluded there was no credible threat to the Bangladesh team in India, and declined to change the venues.


When Bangladesh confirmed it would not travel, the ICC opted to replace them. Scotland, as the highest-ranked T20I team that had not originally qualified, were invited into the 20-team event.

The shift places Scotland in Group C alongside England, West Indies, Italy and Nepal. They are scheduled to play multiple group-stage matches starting February 7 in Kolkata, before travelling to Mumbai for their final game on February 17.

Scotland’s qualification record before the call-up

Scotland had not directly qualified through the formal T20 World Cup qualification events for the 2026 tournament. In the Europe Regional Qualifier — the main pathway for associate teams — Netherlands and Italy finished ahead of them, securing the two spots on offer for the T20 World Cup. Scotland ended fourth in that event, behind both teams and also behind Jersey in net points.

Despite Scotland’s less successful showing in the Europe qualifier, including just one victory in four matches, the ICC ranking system worked in their favour when a late replacement was needed. The governing body noted that Scotland’s T20I ranking (14th in the world among teams not already qualified) placed them ahead of several teams in the tournament field, including Namibia, UAE, Nepal, USA, Canada, Oman and Italy.

Scotland is not new to men’s T20 World Cups, having appeared multiple times at previous editions. They have often competed as one of the stronger European associate nations and have recorded notable wins in the past, including a victory over West Indies in the 2022 T20 World Cup group stage.

That experience and their global ranking were key factors in the ICC choosing them as the replacement team when Bangladesh withdrew, even though they did not secure qualification on the field in the usual way.