Dhaka: A defiant Bangladesh on Thursday formally refused to send its national cricket team to India for next month’s T20 World Cup, sticking to its demand for a venue change even after the sport's global governing body threatened to replace the team with Scotland.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had issued an ultimatum on Wednesday, giving the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) 24 hours to agree to the original schedule or face expulsion. The ICC maintained there is "no credible threat" to the safety of players, officials, or fans in India for the tournament, which begins February 7.

However, following a high-level meeting with players in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul announced the government would not move from its hard-line position.

"While our cricketers have worked hard to qualify for the World Cup, the security risk regarding playing in India remains unchanged. This concern is not based on abstract analysis," Nazrul told a news conference. He added that the ICC's safety assessments were not acceptable to the government.

"...we are not convinced that they can ensure the safety of our entire team, journalists, and spectators," Nazrul said. "We are not giving up hope yet; our team is ready. We expect the ICC to provide justice by considering our genuine security risks and allowing us to play in Sri Lanka."

Bangladesh was scheduled to play four group-stage matches in India, three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. Tensions spiked earlier this month after the BCCI reportedly instructed an IPL franchise to drop Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman, citing unspecified "developments all around."

Nazrul asserted that the decision was a matter of state responsibility. "It is crucial to weigh the loss of not playing against the potential catastrophe of pushing players, fans, and journalists into a risky regional political situation," he said.

The ICC has dismissed these concerns, labelling the Mustafizur incident a "single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its players' involvement in a domestic league."

In a statement Wednesday, the ICC board, which reportedly voted 14-2 against relocating the matches, warned that shifting fixtures without independent findings of a threat would "jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events" and undermine the "neutrality, fairness, and integrity of ICC governance."

With the Thursday deadline passed and Bangladesh unyielding, Scotland is expected to be formally named as the replacement for the tournament.

With inputs from PTI