Controversy dogged the tournament before any games were played ; Australia and the West Indies refused to send their teams to Sri Lanka following the bombing of Central Bank in Colombo by the Tamil Tigers in January 1996 . Sri Lanka , in addition to offering maximum security to the teams , questioned the validity of citing security concerns when the International Cricket Council had determined it was safe . After extensive negotiations , the ICC ruled that Sri Lanka would be awarded both games on forfeit . As a result of this decision , Sri Lanka automatically qualified for the quarter-finals before playing a game
bombing of Central Bank in Colombo
Colombo Central Bank bombing
1996 Cricket World Cup