Bangladesh‘s State Minister for Youth and Sports, Aminul Haque, stated on Tuesday that the nation is excited to host India in September and that he thinks sporting diplomacy may help close any gaps between the two nations.
After the visit, which was originally planned for 2025, was cancelled due to diplomatic difficulties between the two nations, the BCB announced at the beginning of the year that they would welcome India for a three-match ODI and T20I series in August–September 2026.
because to tense relations between Bangladesh and India, the then-Yunus-led administration was obliged to withdraw Bangladesh’s participation in the most recent T20 World Cup in India because to security concerns, raising doubts about the tour’s viability.
The tour appeared to be getting back on track when the BCB put the media and television rights for the India series up for sale earlier this month. The idea gained more traction when it was revealed that, contrary to previous discussions, T20Is would not be part of India’s August tour of Sri Lanka, possibly opening the door for India to tour Bangladesh afterward.
Additionally, the BCB insisted that if necessary, they would strengthen security protocols for the India series.
However, as first reported by Cricbuzz on July 1, the BCB halted the media rights sale process despite sending out a tender notification inviting bids, raising new concerns about the series.
“Sports diplomacy is a top priority for the current administration. Aminul told reporters in Dhaka on Tuesday, “We have already spoken to the Indian Embassy, and they have also spoken to us, and they are all waiting for India to come to Bangladesh in September because cricket is a place of prestige for us and has a very strong position in our world cricket.”
“After arriving, I think we will overcome the tension that was there (between the two countries) over a small incident in the past, and hopefully our sports diplomacy, our communication, our movement, everything will continue with our neighbouring country,” he continued.
A committee was previously established by Bangladesh’s Sports Ministry to look into the reasons behind the country’s withdrawal from the World Cup. It was made public following the formation of a second committee to determine whether or not missing the World Cup constituted a diplomatic failure.
