Scotland has been granted a last-minute entry into the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, stepping in to replace Bangladesh after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) declined to participate in the tournament as per the published schedule. The decision comes after a period of uncertainty regarding Bangladesh's involvement, stemming from security concerns and strained political relations with co-hosts India.

Bangladesh had requested the ICC to move their group games to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns, but the ICC rejected these requests, stating there was "no credible or verifiable security threat". The ICC also emphasized the importance of maintaining the tournament schedule and ensuring fairness for all participating teams. When the BCB did not confirm their participation within the stipulated deadline, the ICC proceeded to name Scotland as their replacement, in line with established governance and qualification processes.

Scotland, currently ranked 14th in the ICC T20I rankings, is the highest-ranked T20I side that did not originally qualify for the tournament. They now take Bangladesh's place in Group C, joining England, Italy, Nepal, and the West Indies. Scotland's inclusion marks their fifth consecutive appearance at a T20 World Cup.

While Scotland celebrates their unexpected opportunity, Jersey will understandably feel aggrieved by the situation. During the European T20 World Cup Qualifier, Jersey finished behind Italy on net run rate, narrowly missing out on one of the two qualification spots that went to Italy and the Netherlands. Had Jersey's net run rate been slightly better, they would have qualified instead of Italy.

The qualification process for the 2026 tournament included direct qualification and regional qualification. The top eight teams from the previous edition, along with the hosts (India and Sri Lanka) and the next best teams in the ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings, qualified directly. The remaining eight teams were decided through regional qualifiers. The regional qualification process included sub-regional qualifiers and regional finals. In Europe, 32 teams participated in the qualifiers.

The T20 World Cup 2026 will feature 20 teams. The teams that have qualified include India and Sri Lanka as hosts, Afghanistan, Australia, England, South Africa, United States, West Indies, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Oman and United Arab Emirates.