Amid the speculations of Pakistan withdrawing from the prestigious ICC T20 World Cup 2026, the second team that might reap the benefits of the situation will be the African team Uganda, who are the next highest-ranked team that failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup.
The exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL led to widespread fury within the Bangladesh Cricket Board, who were left infuriated over the snub. BCB then quickly responded with claims of security concerns in India and hence demanded a swap of venue to Sri Lanka.
The ICC have, however, turned all their proposals down, and the Bangladesh sports advisor in return announced that they will not travel to India and will boycott this edition of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup.
Revealed: Who will replace Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2026 if they pull out?
After Bangladesh announced their standpoint, all eyes have been on Pakistan to see what it would say on this matter. Pakistan had formerly claimed that it would also pull out from the competition if Bangladesh were treated unfairly.
Now, the PCB might be considering such options to withdraw from the competition, much like Bangladesh, to protest against the injustice against them. Hence, if ICC has to consider replacement options for Pakistan, then African underdogs Uganda are the likely contenders for the role.
After Scotland, who are ranked 14th in the ICC Rankings and who might be considered to replace Bangladesh for the World Cup, Uganda are the next best-ranked team to not qualify for the ICC event. Currently, they are ranked 21st in the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings and failed to beat Zimbabwe and Namibia to qualify for the T20 World Cup.
Many of you are asking
If Pakistan pull out of the T20 World Cup 2026, who will replace them?
It’ll be Uganda.
After Scotland (13th) – who now have replaced Bangladesh, Uganda (21st) is highest ranked team not to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) January 25, 2026
ICC threatened PCB with sanctions to stop the boycott of the T20 WC
After reports claimed that the PCB is considering options to withdraw from the tournament following Bangladesh’s footsteps, the ICC took an immediate measure against the board. According to further reports, the ICC warned them of sanctions.
They warned that the PCB’s national team would be banned from playing any bilateral series and would be excluded from participation in the Asia Cup and their domestic franchise league, PSL, would also have to face the consequences, as they would not grant an NOC for overseas players in the Pakistan Super League.
Seemingly, it paid off for the ICC, as the PCB have revealed their squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, which seems as a clear indication that they are no longer considering options of withdrawing from the competition.
ICC T20I Team Rankings
| Position | Team | Matches | Points | Rating |
| 1 | India | 73 | 19914 | 273 |
| 2 | Australia | 42 | 11199 | 267 |
| 3 | England | 45 | 11609 | 258 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 55 | 13762 | 250 |
| 5 | South Africa | 53 | 12739 | 240 |
| 6 | West Indies | 64 | 15038 | 235 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 75 | 17604 | 235 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 50 | 11422 | 228 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 67 | 14925 | 223 |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 48 | 10650 | 222 |
| 11 | Ireland | 38 | 7649 | 201 |
| 12 | Zimbabwe | 66 | 13190 | 200 |
| 13 | Netherlands | 35 | 6366 | 182 |
| 14 | Scotland | 23 | 4178 | 182 |
| 15 | Namibia | 35 | 6344 | 181 |
| 16 | UAE | 60 | 10584 | 176 |
| 17 | Nepal | 42 | 7384 | 176 |
| 18 | USA | 33 | 5769 | 175 |
| 19 | Canada | 35 | 5374 |
154 |
| 20 | Oman | 47 | 7140 | 152 |
| 21 | Uganda | 56 | 7952 | 142 |








