The decision was formally announced on Saturday after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) declined to take part in the event under the existing match schedule.
As a result, Scotland have been drafted into Group C, where they will compete alongside England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies.
The ICC’s move comes after it rejected the BCB’s request to shift Bangladesh’s matches from India to Sri Lanka, one of the tournament’s co-hosts.
The governing body said the request was denied due to the absence of any credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh team in India.
To assess the situation, the ICC commissioned independent security reviews involving both internal and external experts.
In a statement, the ICC acknowledged the difficulty of the decision but said it was not feasible to alter the schedule so close to the tournament, which begins on February 7.
The ICC added that it had engaged in extensive discussions with the BCB over more than three weeks, holding multiple meetings both virtually and in person.
During this period, the ICC examined the concerns raised, shared comprehensive security and operational plans, and reiterated assurances regarding enhanced safety measures at all venues.
According to the ICC, these assessments concluded that there was no credible security risk to Bangladesh’s players, officials or supporters in India.
After weighing the wider implications, the Board decided that changing the published schedule was not appropriate.
Following a meeting on Wednesday, the BCB was given a 24-hour deadline to confirm its participation under the existing arrangements.
When no response was received within that timeframe, the ICC moved ahead in line with its governance and qualification procedures to identify a replacement.
Scotland were next in line based on rankings, currently placed 14th in the ICC Men’s T20I standings, ahead of several other teams that had missed out on qualification, including Namibia, the UAE, Nepal, USA, Canada, Oman and Italy.
