Pakistan take on Australia in a three-match Twenty20 international series starting in Lahore from Thursday, despite doubts over their participation in next month's World Cup in cricket's shortest format.

South Africa great AB de Villiers said that Bangladesh’s exclusion from the upcoming T20 World Cup presents a “bad look” for cricket and that the situation should never have been allowed to reach such a stage.

For Scotland, it was a lifeline. For Bangladesh, it was heartbreak.

Slotted in Group C at the T20 World Cup, the West Indies will go up against England, Nepal, Italy and Scotland.

Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team showpiece on Saturday following their refusal to tour India over safety concerns in the wake of soured political relations between the Asian neighbours.

These sanctions could include suspension of all bilateral series, denial of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for foreign players in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and exclusion from the Asia Cup.

What began as Mustafizur Rahman’s sudden omission from the Indian Premier League (IPL) quickly spiralled into a broader diplomatic and cricketing standoff, ultimately casting uncertainty over Bangladesh’s participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday upheld the previous schedule for the upcoming T20 World Cup, co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India from February 7.

ESPNcricinfo outlines four main scenarios.

The ICC has scheduled a Board meeting for Wednesday to discuss the BCB’s request to move Bangladesh’s matches to Sri Lanka over security concerns in India.

It seems as if nothing happening on the pitch is significant enough to overshadow the events unfolding off it.

As the clock ticks down, the ICC faces mounting pressure to resolve the standoff.

“We’ve received definitive assurances that we won’t move from the original schedule. We’re definitely playing the Group Stage in Sri Lanka,” a Cricket Ireland official told Cricbuzz.

As previously announced, Wayne Madsen will lead the European outfit for the tournament.

India-born Dilpreet Bajwa will lead Canada at the T20 World Cup next month, the country's cricket board said on Wednesday as it announced a 15-member squad for the competition.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam Bulbul recently reiterated that the board will remain steadfast on its stance over the security of the Bangladesh contingent for the ICC T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) finance committee chairman M Najmul Islam has come under heavy criticism after labelling former captain Tamim Iqbal an “Indian agent” in a social media post.

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) places heavy expectations on players from the franchises’ side, creating a competitive grind that sharpens Bangladesh’s national team toolbox, particularly those in the pipeline. From that perspective, the BPL offers a major platform to showcase performance in franchise cricket, but this time it presents a unique opportunity for players aiming to break into the Bangladesh T20I squad ahead of the World Cup in February.

All-rounder Cooper Connolly hopes his blazing Big Bash League form can help him earn him a recall to Australia's Twenty20 squad for next year's World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka have hired former Indian fielding coach R. Sridhar to do the same job for them ahead of the men's T20 World Cup starting in February, the board said Wednesday.