1996 ODI World Cup: Amid Sri Lanka’s civil war and a bombing in Colombo weeks before the tournament, Australia and West Indies refused to play their group matches there, forfeiting points. Sri Lanka still topped the group and later defeated Australia in the final.
2003 ODI World Cup: England declined to play in Zimbabwe due to political objections to Robert Mugabe’s regime, while New Zealand skipped their match in Kenya citing security fears after a bombing in Mombasa. The ICC awarded walkovers to Zimbabwe and Kenya. Kenya eventually reached the semi-finals.
2009 T20 World Cup: Ongoing political tensions between Zimbabwe and the UK raised visa concerns for Zimbabwean players. To resolve the issue, Zimbabwe withdrew “in the larger interest of the game” but received full participation fees, with Scotland replacing them.
2016 U-19 World Cup: Australia withdrew from the tournament in Bangladesh, maintaining that security threats to Australian interests remained high. Ireland took Australia’s place.
2025 Champions Trophy: India refused to travel to Pakistan due to lack of government clearance. After negotiations, the ICC agreed that India-Pakistan matches in ICC events from 2024–27 would be played at neutral venues. India played their 2025 Champions Trophy matches in Dubai and went on to win the tournament.
