Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Bangladesh are officially out of the T20 World Cup, and Scotland have been named as their replacement, according to a report from Cricbuzz. The decision did not come as a surprise, as it had been building for days. The final call was taken on Saturday morning.The report understands that ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta wrote a formal letter to the ICC Board. In the letter, he explained that the demands made by the Bangladesh Cricket Board did not match ICC policy. He also stated that the BCB was not following the decision already taken by the ICC Board. Because of this, there was no option left but to bring in another team.
Scotland have thus been chosen to take Bangladesh’s place, with the letter already sent to all Board members. At the same time, Gupta is believed to have written to Cricket Scotland with a formal invitation to join the tournament.Why were Scotland picked as Bangladesh’s replacement? The choice of Scotland was based on performance and ranking. Scotland are currently ranked No. 14. More importantly, they have shown steady progress in recent ICC events. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, Scotland finished third in Group B. They had the same number of points as England but missed out due to net run rate.In the 2022 edition, Scotland beat West Indies in the group stage. They still finished third and failed to reach the Super 12. In 2021, Scotland beat Bangladesh in the group stage. They topped their group that year, but they did not win a match in the Super 12 round.The Cricbuzz report reveals that these results played a key role in the ICC’s decision. And that’s why Scotland were seen as the most deserving associate team.The change means Scotland will now play in Group C. They will face West Indies on February 7. They will play Italy on February 9. They will then take on England on February 14. All three matches will be in Kolkata. Scotland will later travel to Mumbai to play Nepal on February 17.
