Pakistan could withdraw from T20 World Cup after 'injustice' of Bangladesh removal amid 'security concerns' as Scotland given late call-up
Updated 24/01/2026 at 20:31 GMT
Pakistan could withdraw from the men's T20 World Cup after the International Cricket Council confirmed that Bangladesh will be replaced by Scotland following a diplomatic standoff. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) wanted to move their matches from India to Sri Lanka over what they said was security concerns. Scotland join England in Group C, as well as Italy, Nepal and the West Indies.
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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi said they could withdraw from the 2026 T20 World Cup and labelled the decision to remove Bangladesh from the tournament and replace them with Scotland "an injustice".
The tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had been negotiating with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move their games to Sri Lanka owing to security concerns.
However, the ICC refused to budge and have now opted to remove Bangladesh from the tournament, calling up Scotland to take their place in Group C alongside West Indies, Nepal, Italy and England, who levelled their One-Day International series against Sri Lanka on Saturday.
During the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy hosted in Pakistan, India played all of their matches, including the final, in the United Arab Emirates and Naqvi called out the sport’s governing body over "double standards" for refusing to make the same allowance for Bangladesh.
Pakistan, however, are set to play at least all their group games in the 2026 tournament outside of India.
"Our stance [on World Cup participation] will be what the government of Pakistan instructs me," Naqvi said, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. "The Prime Minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I will be able to give you our final decision. It is the government's decision. We obey them, not the ICC.
"I think Bangladesh has been hard done by, you cannot have double standards. You cannot say for one country [India] they can do whatever they want and for the others to have to do the complete opposite.
"That is why we have taken this stand and made clear Bangladesh have had an injustice done to them. They should play in the World Cup, they are a major stakeholder in cricket."
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Pakistan would likely be replaced by Uganda if they did withdraw from the tournament, as The Cricket Cranes are the highest-ranked team who didn't qualify. They would join India, United States, Netherlands and Namibia in Group A.
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The decision to remove Bangladesh just 13 days before the tournament starts comes after three weeks of negotiations following the BCB's refusal to send a team to India over security concerns.
The BCB requested to move their matches from India to co-hosts Sri Lanka, despite there being "no credible or verifiable security threat" to the Bangladesh side.
In a statement released on Saturday, the ICC said that 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 statement continued: "The decision follows an extensive process undertaken by the ICC to address concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of its scheduled 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.
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"As part of this process, the ICC 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."
The T20 World Cup gets underway on February 7, with the group stages taking place until February 20.
The 'Super 8' round begins on February 21, with the top eight teams from the initial group stages divided into two groups of four for a place in the semi-finals.
The semi-finals will take place on March 4-5, before the final on March 8.
England are currently on a tour of Sri Lanka, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, in preparation for the T20 World Cup.
How to watch and live stream the tour of Sri Lanka
Every ball from the 2026 tour of Sri Lanka will be available live and on-demand via TNT Sports and its streaming platform, discovery+.
Viewers watching the action on discovery+ will benefit from the timeline markers featured throughout the series – allowing them to catch up on all the highlights and pivotal moments at their own pace.
To complement the live action, TNT Sports will broadcast highlights throughout the daytime on its linear channels and discovery+.
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