“Strict action must be taken” - Mohammad Azharuddin supports ICC after replacing Bangladesh with Scotland for T20 WC 2026

Former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin has supported the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s decision to invite Scotland to replace Bangladesh for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, starting on February 7, in India and Sri Lanka.

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Speaking exclusively to the news agency, ANI, the former Indian captain also stated the apex body should take strict action on the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for pulling out of the tournament at the last moment, citing security concerns.

"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," Azharuddin told ANI.

For the unversed, the BCB requested the ICC to relocate their T20 World Cup matches outside India to Sri Lanka, who are co-hosting the campaign. However, the ICC rejected the BCB’s request, stating that there were no security concerns in India.

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 the paceman from Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman, from their squad ahead of the IPL 2026 campaign, amid violence against minorities in Bangladesh.

Eventually, the BCB President, Aminul Islam Bulbul, confirmed that the BCB stands firm in its decision not to play the forthcoming showpiece event in India, following the ICC's rejection of its request.

On Saturday, January 24, the ICC officially replaced Bangladesh with Scotland after the BCB decided to pull out of the campaign. Notably, Scotland is the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament. 

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Scotland is 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.

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