The International Cricket Council have not held any talks with Scotland about replacing Bangladesh at next month’s men’s T20 World Cup – but Scottish players would be ready if the call came.<\/p>\n
Bangladesh have told the ICC they will not travel to India<\/a> for the T20 World Cup next month amid political tensions<\/a> between the two countries, and have requested their matches be moved elsewhere.<\/p>\n Scotland are the highest ranked team not taking part in the tournament, which would put them in the frame to take Bangladesh’s spot should the ICC decide to replace them.<\/p>\n However, BBC Sport has been told the ICC have not contacted Cricket Scotland at this stage to discuss whether they would be willing to step in.<\/p>\n Equally, Scottish cricket officials are not planning to initiate talks with the global governing body out of respect to their counterparts at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).<\/p>\n A fourth-place finish at last summer’s Europe Qualifier<\/a> cost Scotland a place at the 2026 T20 World Cup as the Netherlands and Italy secured the two spots on offer for the region. <\/p>\n Scotland’s players are currently back in training, though, as they prepare for a one-day international tri-series with Namibia and Oman in Windhoek in March.<\/p>\n It has been reported that a final call on Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup, and if they willing to travel to India for the event, is set to be taken by Wednesday.<\/p>\n BBC Sport has approached the ICC for clarification of the criteria used to determine a replacement in the event of a team either pulling out or being expelled from the tournament.<\/p>\n Zimbabwe withdrew from the 2009 T20 World Cup in England for political reasons and were replaced by Scotland<\/a> who were the ‘next best’ team in a pre-tournament global qualifying tournament.<\/p>\n But with qualifying for T20 World Cups, which were expanded to 20 teams in 2024, now done on a regional basis it is not quite so straightforward and is likely to be a discretionary decision by the ICC.<\/p>\n Scotland are currently 14th in the ICC T20 rankings.<\/p>\n The ICC could move Bangladesh’s matches to a less politically sensitive part of the country, or switch their games to co-hosts Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n