Bangladesh team in action. (FILE photo)
After months of strained ties, there are signs of a thaw in cricketing relations between India and Bangladesh. Days after the Indian Premier League chairman Arun Dhumal described Mustafizur Rahman’s ouster from the competition as “unfortunate”, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reached out to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to explore greater cooperation.
Nazmul Abedin Fahim, BCB’s Director of Cricket Operations, said they recently contacted the BCCI. “We maintain regular communication with various countries’ cricket boards. As part of that, we recently wrote to the Board of Control for Cricket in India,” Fahim told ANI.
In its communication, the BCB noted that India’s men’s team is scheduled to tour Bangladesh in September, followed by the Bangladesh women’s team tour to India – further signalling a possible reset in ties between the two neighbours.
Relations between the two neighbours had worsened after the Bangladesh cricket team declined to travel to India for its group-stage fixtures at the ongoing 2026 T20 World Cup, citing security concerns. The move was in response to IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders releasing Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their team on the BCCI’s directions.
There was a growing perception that the interim government under Muhammad Yunus took a frosty stance vis-à-vis India following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, and further aggravated matters by boycotting the World Cup.
India and Pakistan do not share bilateral cricket ties and meet at neutral venues in ICC events. A similar situation had seemed likely with Bangladesh, set to host next year’s Asia Cup, but recent exchanges have raised hopes of normalcy.
However, following its election victory, the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party government, led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, has indicated that it wants to recalibrate ties. Moments after taking the oath after winning the elections in February, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Youth and Sports, Aminul Haque, met the Deputy High Commissioner of India and discussed the cricketing issues.
“I told him that we want to resolve this issue quickly through discussions because we want to maintain friendly relations with all our neighbouring countries. From sports to all other sectors, we want to build a sincere and cordial relationship,” Haque had said.
Fahim’s letter to the BCCI is seen as another step to normalise the relationship. “In the letter, we mentioned that the Indian national cricket team is scheduled to come to Bangladesh in September to play a series, and after that, our women’s team is supposed to go to India. We also included in the letter a request to explore any other possibilities for reciprocal cricket collaborations,” Fahim said.
The BCB’s outreach comes days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Riaz Hamidullah, and amid reports of a possible visit by Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman to India in the second week of April.
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