Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 24 : Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin has supported the International Cricket Council (ICC) decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotland in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026.
"The ICC has made the right decision on replacing Bangladesh with Scotland. I feel that strict action must be taken. Because until you are strict, until you take action, I don't think the work will be equal," the former Indian captain told ANI.
Before ICC's official announcement, the Bangladesh Cricket Board had requested ICC to shift their matches outside India to Sri Lanka, citing "security and safety concerns" for their players.
BCB's request came after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had instructed the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur from their squad ahead of the 2026 season, amid violence against minorities in Bangladesh.
After this, ICC rejected the BCB's request to move their matches out of India for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup via video conference, which was convened to discuss the way forward.
The BCB President, Aminul Islam Bulbul, then confirmed that the BCB stands firm in its decision not to play its ICC Men's World Cup matches in India, following the ICC's rejection of its request.
After weeks of talks between the ICC and the BCB, the ICC released a statement on Saturday saying that Bangladesh had been replaced by Scotland in the upcoming marquee tournament.
The announcement came after the ICC, in the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected the BCB's demand to move its matches in the 20-team tournament to be played from February 7 to March 8.
Scotland is the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament. They are currently ranked 14th, ahead of seven teams already in the tournament: Namibia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nepal, the United States of America (USA), Canada, Oman and Italy.