T20 World Cup 2026 Row: Sri Lanka Issues Statement Amid ICC–Bangladesh Tensions

The International Cricket Council dropped Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup 2026 after a long venue dispute, bringing Scotland into the tournament instead. The move followed a missed deadline over match locations in India, while reports suggested Pakistan could even sit out fixtures, or avoid India games, as regional tensions around the event kept rising.

Bangladesh had asked the ICC to move group matches out of India and into Sri Lanka, raising security worries after Mustafizur Rahman left the Indian Premier League. The team had been scheduled to play four early games in Kolkata and Mumbai, but the governing body rejected the request and set a 24-hour window for a final response.

T20 World Cup 2026 venue dispute and team changes

The disagreement over T20 World Cup 2026 venues ran for more than three weeks before the ICC decision. Bangladesh did not change the position after the deadline, leading the board to remove the team from the line-up. Scotland stepped in as replacement, being the highest-ranked side among those that had originally fallen short in qualifying.

Sri Lanka’s neutral stance on T20 World Cup 2026 tensions

Through much of the argument involving Bangladesh and India, Sri Lanka remained quiet, despite sharing hosting rights for T20 World Cup 2026. Cricket Secretary Bandula Dissanayake later told AFP that Colombo wanted distance from regional politics, saying, "In these disputes among India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, we are remaining neutral; all of these are friendly nations," he said. Dissanayake also noted Sri Lanka could stage future tournaments for any of the countries if requested.

The friction comes as India and Pakistan already avoid playing bilateral cricket and now meet only at neutral grounds. For T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan will stage its fixtures in Sri Lanka, including the high-profile clash against India. At the same time, several reports indicated Pakistan might boycott the tournament altogether or refuse to contest games versus India.

Sri Lanka’s government stressed that running T20 World Cup 2026 efficiently remains the central goal. Sports minister Sunil Kumara Gamage told AFP that Sri Lanka has given the "highest priority" to ensuring the tournament runs smoothly and is "paying special attention to the India-Pakistan matches", sports minister Sunil Kumara Gamage told the news agency. Authorities aim to keep political issues from affecting the cricket.

T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled to begin on 7 February, with the final set for 8 March, shared between venues in India and Sri Lanka. Despite disputes over security and politics, organisers in Colombo and the ICC are working to keep the schedule intact and maintain focus on the cricket itself.