ICC Silent on Scotland Amidst T20 World Cup Replacement Rumors

The situation stems from political tensions between India and Bangladesh, with the BCB citing security concerns and refusing to send its team to India for the tournament. Bangladesh requested the ICC to move their group matches from Mumbai and Kolkata to Sri Lanka, the co-hosts of the event. They also proposed a group swap with Ireland, who are scheduled to play all their preliminary matches in Sri Lanka. Both requests were reportedly rejected by the ICC. However, BBC Sport has been told that the ICC has not initiated discussions with Scotland, while Cricket Scotland is also unwilling to approach the governing body out of respect for the ongoing situation involving the BCB. Scotland narrowly missed qualification for the T20 World Cup after finishing fourth in last year’s European qualifiers, with the Netherlands and Italy claiming the two available spots. The Scottish players are currently preparing for a one-day international tri-series against Namibia and Oman in Windhoek in March. BBC Sport also contacted the ICC to seek clarification on the process to pick the replacement team in the event of a team pulling out. In the 2009 T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe withdrew owing to political reasons, and Scotland was picked as the replacement team by virtue of being the 'next best' team in a pre-tournament global qualifying tournament. However, since 2024, ICC has expanded the T20 tournament to 20 teams, with qualification based on regional events.