The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has now reached a dead end, and the T20 World Cup 2026 situation has become even more serious after the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) 24-hour deadline passed without any official reply from Dhaka.
BCB hits dead end after missing ICC’s 24-hour deadline
Now, Bangladesh is facing the real danger of being pushed out of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. As reported by Cricbuzz, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has not submitted its response to the ICC over their participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 in India.
There were reports that the BCB had discussions inside the board, spoke to government officials, and consulted player representatives, but nothing was formally communicated to the ICC within the given time. As the deadline expired, the silence from BCB only made the problem bigger.
The report suggested that the ICC officials in Dubai waited through the entire 24-hour window, hoping for clarity from Bangladesh. But BCB has not responded, and now the ICC is not ready to wait any longer.
ICC free to act as Scotland set to replace Bangladesh at T20 World Cup 2026
The ICC had already made it clear that they will move ahead with a replacement if Bangladesh does not agree to play their matches in Mumbai and Kolkata as planned, and now they are free to make that call. At this stage, Scotland has emerged as the strongest option to replace the Tigers at the showpiece event, based on their standings.
The process to confirm Scotland’s place in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 is now expected to move quickly, as the global body does not want any delay to the showpiece tournament. Now, there is no more last-minute miracle, as the ICC board had already voted on the matter earlier, and the final decision was clearly placed in Bangladesh’s hands.
Bangladesh had the whole day (January 22) to decide whether the team would travel to India for the tournament. Still, the BCB stuck firmly to its stand and repeated its concerns about player safety. By not responding within the ICC’s deadline, Bangladesh has now lost control of the situation.
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Bangladesh Govt’s tough stand ends their T20 World Cup 2026 dream
On the other hand, the Bangladesh government made it very clear that allowing the team to play in India was not acceptable, no matter what assurances were given by the ICC, citing past incidents and a lack of confidence in proper security arrangements.
If Scotland is officially confirmed in the coming days, it will go down as one of the most shocking World Cup exits in recent history. Asif Nazrul, the Bangladesh government’s sports advisor, stated, “Now this ICC tournament is being held in India. No matter how much the ICC says there is no security risk, the ICC does not have its own country.
The country where my player was not safe—and where the Indian cricket board, which is an extended arm of the government, failed or was unwilling to provide him security under pressure from extremists—that is the country hosting this tournament.”
