T20 World Cup: Scotland ‘absolutely ready’ after last-minute call-up – but need flights and visas to be issued | Cricket News

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Scotland are “all ready to go” in the T20 World Cup after a last-minute invitation – provided there are no flight and visa snags ahead of planned travel to India.

The team will take Bangladesh’s place in the 20-team tournament from February 7 after the Asian country refused to play matches in India due to political tensions.

Scotland will join Pool C, alongside tournament debutants England, West Indies, Nepal and Italy, as the second-highest country in the ICC’s T20I rankings who have not already qualified.

The team faces a race against time ahead of their World Cup opener against the West Indies in Kolkata on day one, although cricket Scotland chief executive Trudi Lindblade said Sky Sports News All players are available and the pool is now being sorted.

“There is great excitement but there is also a lot to get done in a very short space of time,” said Lindblad, whose side will play England on Valentine’s Day, with that match kicking off at 9.30am in the UK.

“The team is fully prepared. We have done winter training but we definitely need to play on grass and adapt to the conditions in India, which are very different to what they are here in Edinburgh at the moment.

“Cricket is a sport that lasts 365 days a year. We have players all over the world playing cricket, so we are ready to make Scotland proud.”

‘Touch and go’ but Scotland are ‘confident’ they will succeed

“We know that all the players can be available. The opportunity to be at the World Cup in India, the home of cricket, was a fairly easy decision for the players, although there may have been a little longer conversations with the families before they left. Everyone is ready to play.

“Trying to get a team from Scotland to India in less than seven days comes with challenges – flights and visas are the biggest things for us. If we get them, we will have a team by the end of the week.

“Sometimes it is volatile but I am confident. We rely on the ICC to work hard with us. We have a WhatsApp group that works 21 hours a day. I have a small team but that is when great teams shine.”

Scotland finished fourth in the European qualifiers with the Netherlands and Italy taking the two available spots for that region in the T20 World Cup, ahead of third-placed Jersey.

However, Scotland have impressed in the previous T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA in 2024, and may have beaten England in the group stage had it not been for rain, having reached 90-0 from a possible 10 overs in Barbados.

They also challenged Australia before defeat to Mitch Marsh’s side eliminated them from the group stage on net run rate with England ahead of them.

Lindblad added about this year’s tournament: “It’s an opportunity for us to play against the best teams in the world. We hope there will be some surprises along the way because that’s what creates drama and memories. We will do our best.”

“We are there to give our best and progress through the stages. Not being as prepared as other teams takes some pressure off but we also know we will be pushing ourselves to get the best result for Scotland.”