T20 World Cup: Scotland likely to join if Bangladesh declines

ISLAMABAD: If Bangladesh insist on refusing to play in India on security grounds, the ICC board has decided to include Scotland in the tournament based on team rankings.

The decision was taken at the ICC board meeting on Wednesday, where a majority of directors voted in favor of including an alternative team in case Bangladesh refuses. Of the 15 directors present at the meeting, only Pakistan supported the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

The meeting was called after the Pakistan Cricket Board wrote a letter to the ICC and other cricket boards on Tuesday, in which the PCB announced its support for the BCB’s position.

The board meeting was attended by directors from all full member countries. Apart from ICC Chairman Jay Shah, the meeting was attended by BCB President Aminul Islam, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, Sri Lanka Cricket President Shami Silva, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Cricket Australia Chairman Mike Beard, Zimbabwe Cricket President Tavinga Mukulani, West Indies Cricket President Kishore Shiloh, Cricket Ireland Chairman Brian McNeese, Cricket New Zealand Representative Roger Toews, England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman Richard Thompson, Cricket South Africa Representative Mohammad Moosaji and Afghanistan Cricket Board Chairman Mirwaiz Ashraf.

In addition, two Associate Member Directors Mubashir Usmani and Mahinda Valipuram, ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta, ICC Deputy Chairman Imran Khawaja and ICC General Manager Gaurav Saxena were also present in the meeting.

Also part of the meeting was Andrew Effergrew, head of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit, who had held face-to-face meetings with the BCB in Dhaka last week to try to address security concerns.