The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday officially announced that Bangladesh will not participate in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, and Scotland will take its place in Group C, joining England, Italy, Nepal, and the West Indies.

The decision follows Bangladesh’s refusal to play its scheduled matches in India.

On January 4, Bangladesh had announced it would not travel after its player Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League (IPL) team amid rising tensions between the two countries.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) subsequently requested the ICC to shift its games to Sri Lanka.

The ICC rejected the request, citing the absence of “any credible or verifiable security threat” to the Bangladesh team in India.

“Scotland has been called up to take Bangladesh’s place in Group C, joining England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies,” the ICC stated.

Scotland, ranked 14th in T20I rankings, was chosen as the next-highest ranked team after Bangladesh.

In its statement on its website, the ICC said that 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,” the statement said.

“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,“ it added.

“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,“ it said.

The ICC said the BCB was given a 24-hour window to confirm its participation. With no response, the council followed its governance and qualification procedures to identify a replacement team.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.

Scotland, which had narrowly missed qualification, now joins the tournament as Bangladesh’s replacement in Group C.