Scotland in ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Scotland cricket came up with their first reaction after they got a last-minute entry in the T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7. Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the marquee event as the ICC officially confirmed the development on Saturday following the BCB's refusal to travel to India for their matches.
BCB had requested the ICC to shift their matches from India to Sri Lankaciting security concerns in the wake of fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman being released from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. After weeks of uncertainty and discussions between all the parties involved, ICC turned down BCB's request and announced that they would introduce a replacement if they continued to remain on their stance against the India travel.
Cricket Scotland said the men's squad has been training for several weeks ahead of scheduled tours and will now travel to India immediately to acclimatise before the tournament begins. It has also been said that the details around squad selection for the tournament will be shared in the coming days.
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"I welcomed a call from ICC Chair Jay Shah earlier today confirming that Scotland will receive an invitation to play at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. I was pleased to accept on behalf of our team, who are willing and ready to go. We thank the ICC for this opportunity and look forward to competing with some of the best sides in the world in India in the coming weeks," said Wilf Walsh, Cricket Scotland Chair, in a statement.
Scotland are currently ranked 14th, ahead of the already participating teams, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, USA, Canada, Oman, and Italy. Interestingly, Scotland had played the 2009 T20 World Cup in England after Zimbabwe pulled out of the tournament due to political reasons.
"Earlier today, I received correspondence from the ICC asking if our men's team would play at the Men's T20 World Cup, and we have accepted. We are grateful to the ICC for extending this invitation. This is an exciting opportunity for Scotland's players to compete on the global stage in front of millions of supporters.
"We also acknowledge that this opportunity has arisen out of challenging and unique circumstances. Our squad have been training for some weeks in preparation for upcoming tours and are now preparing to arrive in India imminently to acclimatise to local conditions, ready to play and contribute to what should be a fantastic ICC Men's T20 World Cup," said Trudy Lindblade, Cricket Scotland Chief Executive.