Kamal Ghorui
Former India all-rounder Madan Lal has publicly supported the International Cricket Council’s move to replace Bangladesh with Scotland at the 2026 T20 World Cup, calling the decision justified and timely. Lal also suggested that external influence played a role in Bangladesh’s withdrawal and said the switch would open doors for Scotland, while warning that Bangladesh had erred by pulling out.Reacting to the development, Lal said: “ICC has taken a very good decision. Pakistan also misguided them (Bangladesh). Now this is a very big opportunity for Scotland as they will get a lot of exposure. Bangladesh has made a very big mistake.”
The ICC confirmed on Saturday that Scotland would step in for Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after the Bangladesh Cricket Board declined to compete under the tournament’s published schedule. The governing body took the call after determining that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, leading it to reject the BCB’s request to relocate its matches to Sri Lanka. The 20-team event will run from February 7 to March 8.Following Bangladesh’s exit, Scotland were placed in Group C alongside England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies. Before finalising the replacement, the ICC commissioned independent security reviews involving both internal and external experts to evaluate the situation on the ground.According to an ICC release, the decision came after prolonged engagement with the BCB aimed at addressing its concerns over hosting matches in India. “Over a period of more than three weeks, the ICC engaged with the BCB through multiple rounds of dialogue conducted in a transparent and constructive manner, including meetings held both via video conference and in-person,” it said.The ICC added that it had closely examined the issues flagged by the BCB, arranged independent security assessments, and shared detailed operational and safety plans that included federal and state-level arrangements as well as enhanced and scalable security measures for the tournament. These guarantees were reiterated repeatedly, including during discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board.Reaffirming its stance, the governing body said, “The ICC’s assessments concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India,”With Scotland now drafted in, the ICC maintained that it had followed due process throughout and stressed that the integrity of the event schedule had to be preserved. The move brings clarity to a prolonged standoff between the ICC and the BCB, while also presenting Scotland with a rare chance to compete on one of cricket’s biggest stages.
