ICC confirm Scotland to replace Bangladesh at upcoming T20 World Cup

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had objected to playing any matches at the global tournament in India due to a security threat, and wanted their games shifted to co-hosts Sri Lanka.

In a statement, the ICC said they "reviewed the concerns cited by the BCB, commissioned and considered independent security assessments from internal and external experts, and shared detailed security and operational plans covering federal and state arrangements, as well as enhanced and escalating security protocols for the event.

"These assurances were reiterated at several stages, including during discussions involving the ICC Business Corporation (IBC) Board.

"The ICC's assessments concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials or supporters in India.

"In light of these findings, and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined that it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule."

Scotland were selected to take Bangladesh's place after narrowly missing out on a place in the Euro qualifiers, where they were pipped by Netherlands and Italy.

Scotland are grouped with West Indies, who they open their campaign against on 7 February in Kolkata, as well as England Nepal and Italy.

Trudy Lindblade, Cricket Scotland chief executive, said: "We are grateful to the ICC for extending this invite. This is an exciting opportunity for Scotland's players to compete on the global stage in front of millions of supporters.

"We also acknowledge this opportunity has arisen out of challenging and unique circumstances.

"Our squad have been training for some weeks in preparation for upcoming tours and are now preparing to arrive in India imminently to acclimatise to local conditions."

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