Cricket Scotland’s chief executive Trudy Lindblade on Saturday expressed gratitude towards the International Cricket Council for inviting his country to next month’s T20 World Cup in place of Bangladesh, adding that they are “preparing to arrive in India immediately”.
Scotland were on Saturday confirmed as replacement of Bangladesh who pulled out of the 20-team tournament citing security concerns despite the ICC insisting that there was no threats in to their assessment.
“Earlier today I received correspondence from the ICC asking if our men’s team would play at the Men’s T20 World Cup, and we have accepted,” Lindblade said on Cricket Scotland’s website.
“We are grateful to the ICC for extending this invite. This is an exciting opportunity for Scotland’s players to compete on the global stage in front of millions of supporters. We also acknowledge this opportunity has arisen out of challenging and unique circumstances.
“Our squad have been training for some weeks in preparation for upcoming tours and are now preparing to arrive in India imminently to acclimatise to local conditions, ready to play and contribute to what should be a fantastic ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” she added.
Scotland, however, will need some time to announce their 15-member squad for the tournament which begins on February 7.
“The ICC has confirmed Scotland will replace Bangladesh in Group C, after Bangladesh withdrew from the competition. Details around squad selection for the tournament will be shared in the coming days,” Cricket Scotland said.
Cricket Scotland chairman Wilf Walsh said he received a call from ICC chairman Jay Shah on confirming Scotland’s participation.
“I welcomed a call from ICC Chair Jay Shah earlier today confirming that Scotland will receive an invitation to play at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. I was pleased to accept on behalf of our team, who are willing and ready to go,” he said.
“We thank the ICC for this opportunity and look forward to competing with some of the best sides in the world in India in the coming weeks,” Walsh added.
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