Bangladesh out of T20 World Cup and Scotland in, Pakistan threatens to follow suit

NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced Bangladesh with Scotland on Saturday for next month’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, while the Pakistan Cricket Board stepped in to back the Bangladesh Cricket Board and expressed uncertainty over its own participation in the event.The ICC has informed Bangladesh board (BCB) and released an official statement after the board missed the deadline to communicate its decision on not playing in India. “The ICC today announced that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup after the BCB refused to participate in the tournament per the published match schedule. The announcement comes 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 from India to Sri Lanka,” the ICC said. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi said the board feels Bangladesh have been treated unfairly by ICC and was waiting for prime minister Shahbaz Sharif ’s advice (to play or not play in the T20 WC). “Our PM is out of the country. When he comes, we will take advice from him. The decision by the government will be final and binding. If we say no, they (ICC) may invite any other team. We are not under the ICC, we are subservient to our government,” Naqvi said.Naqvi said “one country was dictating terms” in the ICC. “Bangladesh is a big stakeholder and they have been unfairly treated in this case. I maintained this in Wednesday's meeting as well and their stance has many factors which I will tell when the situation arrives,” he said. “When the ICC changed venues for Pakistan and India in their favour, then why was it not done for Bangladesh?” The ICC said the decision follows an extensive review process to address concerns raised by the BCB about 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 inperson.”“As part of this process, the ICC reviewed the concerns cited by the BCB... 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 statement said.“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 ICC also noted the importance of preserving the integrity and sanctity of the tournament schedule, safeguarding the interests of all participating teams and fans and avoiding the establishment of precedents that could undermine the neutrality and fairness of ICC events.“As no confirmation was received (from BCB) within the stipulated deadline, the ICC proceeded in line with its established governance and qualification processes to identify a replacement team. Scotland are the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament,” the ICC statement added.