Bangladesh replaced by Scotland at T20 World Cup

Jan 24 : Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland for next month's Twenty20 World Cup after the South Asian side refused to travel to co-hosts India, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Saturday.

The decision follows weeks of uncertainty, during which the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) repeatedly insisted it would not play its scheduled matches in India, citing safety concerns following soured political relations between the neighbours.

Bangladesh had asked the ICC to move their games to the tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka instead, but the governing body rejected the demand, dismissing any security threat to the team.

"Following a meeting on Wednesday, the Bangladesh Cricket Board had been given a 24-hour timeframe to confirm whether its team would participate in India as scheduled," the ICC said in a statement.

"As no confirmation was received within the deadline, the ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team."

Scotland have replaced Bangladesh in Group C, joining England, Nepal, Italy and West Indies.

"Scotland are the next-highest ranked T20 international team that had originally missed T20 World Cup qualification. They are currently ranked 14th, which in fact is ahead of competing teams Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, the United States, Canada, Oman and Italy," the ICC added.

Reuters has contacted the BCB and Cricket Scotland for comment.

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