Agartala (Tripura) [India], January 25 (ANI): The Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) Secretary, Subrata Dey, termed Bangladesh's ejection from the upcoming Men's T20 World Cup 2026 as 'unfortunate', stressing that the International Cricket Council (ICC) gave 'ample opportunities' before replacing them with Scotland after they refused to travel to India for the tournament.

Speaking to ANI, Subrata Dey on Saturday said that Bangladesh's decision not to revisit negotiations led to their replacement.

'It is indeed unfortunate. Bangladesh has been a competent and passionate cricketing nation, and their absence will be felt by the players and the fans. But the ICC has provided ample opportunities to Bangladesh; however, they were firm on their decision from the very beginning. They (Bangladesh) did not provide themselves with an opportunity to go back to the negotiation on other points,' said Subrata Dey, the Tripura Cricket Association Secretary.

Before ICC's official announcement of Bangladesh's ejection from the World Cup, the Bangladesh Cricket Board had requested the ICC to shift their matches outside India to Sri Lanka, citing 'security and safety concerns' for their players.

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 Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur from their squad ahead of the 2026 season, amid violence against minorities in Bangladesh.

After this, ICC rejected the BCB's request to move their matches out of India for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup via video conference, which was convened to discuss the way forward.

The BCB President, Aminul Islam Bulbul, then confirmed that the BCB stands firm in its decision not to play its ICC Men's World Cup matches in India, following the ICC's rejection of its request.After weeks of talks between the ICC and the BCB, the ICC released a statement on Saturday saying that Bangladesh had been replaced by Scotland in the upcoming marquee tournament.

The announcement came after the ICC, in the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team in India, rejected the BCB's request to relocate its matches in the 20-team tournament, scheduled to be played from February 7 to March 8.

Scotland is the highest-ranked T20I side not to originally qualify for the tournament. They are 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. (ANI)