The Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed on Saturday that it has accepted the ICC’s decision to replace its national team with Scotland in next month’s T20 World Cup, conceding that it had exhausted all available options.Earlier in the day, the ICC officially announced Scotland as Bangladesh’s replacement for the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The move came after Bangladesh maintained its refusal to travel to India, citing safety concerns despite an independent security assessment finding no specific threat to the team.
BCB media committee chairman Amjad Hossain said the board had made repeated efforts to resolve the issue but ultimately had to respect the ICC’s stance.“We have tried our best. We fully respect the ICC Board, and the Board’s majority decision was that the match cannot be relocated,” he said.Hossain explained that even after the initial rejection, the BCB continued to pursue alternatives. “Even after that, we tried in our own way and made requests. Since they will not do it or do not want to, there is nothing more we can do,” Hossain added.Accepting the outcome, he stated, “We have accepted the ICC Board’s decision, as the ICC has said that we will not be able to go and play, nor can our match be shifted to Sri Lanka.”Hossain also made it clear that the board would not escalate the matter further through legal or arbitration channels. “In this case, we cannot go to India to play, and our stance remains the same. We are not going into any separate arbitration or any other process here.He further revealed that the decision was guided by the Bangladesh government, saying, “We have spoken with the government. The government has said that going to India to play in the World Cup would not be safe for us, for our players, journalists, or anyone accompanying the team,” Hossain said.According to Hossain, the BCB had proposed relocating their matches to Sri Lanka after receiving the government’s advice. “In that case, we requested that our match be shifted to Sri Lanka. However, the ICC did not agree to that, even after several rounds of meetings. Since the ICC did not respond, there is not much we can do because this is the government’s decision.The BCB had also approached the ICC with an alternative proposal to move Bangladesh from Group C to Group B, but both requests were turned down. The ICC Board had earlier agreed that if Bangladesh failed to secure clearance from its government, the team would be replaced in the tournament.Reiterating the reasoning behind Bangladesh’s stance, Hossain said, “Due to security concerns, playing in India is not safe for us, and that is why this decision has been taken,” he added.