Bangladesh sports minister hopes India series helps in bringing back sports diplomacy between two countries
The BCB confirmed at the beginning of the year that they will host India for a three-match ODI and T20I series in August-September 2026
XtraTime Newsdesk: Bangladesh's State Minister for Youth and Sports, Aminul Haque, said on Tuesday that the country is excited to host India in September and believes that sporting diplomacy may help overcome any gaps between the two countries.
The BCB confirmed at the beginning of the year that they will host India for a three-match ODI and T20I series in August-September 2026, after the trip originally scheduled for 2025 was cancelled due to political issues between the two nations.
Bangladesh and India have had a poor relationship in recent years, prompting the then-Yunus-led government to withdraw from the previous T20 World Cup in India due to security concerns, casting doubt on the tour's potential.
The BCB put broadcast and media rights for the India series on sale earlier this month, indicating that the tour was getting back on track. The idea gained traction after the scheduling for India's visit of Sri Lanka in August did not include T20Is, despite prior conversations, perhaps clearing the door for India to tour Bangladesh.
The BCB also stated that they will increase security measures for the India series if necessary.
However, further worries over the series arose as the BCB halted the media rights auction process despite sending a tender notification requesting bids, as reported by Cricbuzz on July 1.
“The current government is giving utmost importance to sports diplomacy. And since cricket is a place of prestige for us, since cricket has a very strong position in our world cricket…we have already spoken to the Indian Embassy, they have also spoken to us and they are all waiting for India to come to Bangladesh in September,” Aminul told reporters at Dhaka on Tuesday.
“After arriving, I think that 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 added.
Previously, Bangladesh's Sports Ministry established a commission to study the reasons for World Cup withdrawal. It was announced following the formation of another commission to determine whether boycotting the World Cup was a diplomatic disaster or not.
