Jason Gillespie reveals reason behind removing post on ICC-Bangladesh row with India reference

Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie publicly questioned the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s decision to remove Bangladesh from the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Gillespie drew comparisons with India’s venue-related exemption during the Champions Trophy in a social media post, though he deleted the tweet shortly after it was published.

The ICC had officially confirmed Scotland as Bangladesh’s replacement, prompting Gillespie to question why Bangladesh’s request to play matches outside India could not be accommodated despite Sri Lanka being available as a co-host for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

“Has there been an explanation from the ICC why Bangladesh could not play their games outside of India? From memory, India refused to play Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan and they were allowed to play those games outside of Pakistan. Can someone make this make sense?” Gillespie had tweeted hours after the announcement.

The tweet quickly gained traction, with screenshots circulating widely even after Gillespie removed the post. On Sunday, the former Australia pacer explained that he deleted the tweet due to the online abuse he received for raising the question.

“Because I got abused for asking a simple question, that’s why,” Gillespie wrote in a follow-up post.

Bangladesh were removed from the tournament after informing the ICC that they would not be able to travel to India for their scheduled fixtures. The global body subsequently activated its contingency plan, bringing in Scotland as the replacement team based on rankings.

Scotland, who qualified as the next-highest-ranked team outside the original World Cup line-up, have been placed in Group C. They will begin their campaign against the West Indies on February 7 in Kolkata, before taking on Italy on February 9 and England on February 14. Scotland will wrap up their group-stage fixtures against Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.

The episode has further fuelled debate around consistency in ICC decision-making, particularly concerning venue flexibility and precedent in global tournaments.