Bangladesh Banks on Sports Diplomacy To Revive Cricket Ties With India

Dhaka: Bangladesh is hopeful of hosting the Indian cricket team in September and is banking on sports diplomacy to revive bilateral cricketing ties following the fallout over the Mustafizur Rahman controversy.

Relations between the two countries came under strain early this year after Mustafizur was withdrawn by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the IPL following BCCI instructions, prompting Bangladesh to boycott the T20 World Cup, citing security concerns.

The developments also led to the postponement of India's white-ball tour of Bangladesh, originally scheduled for August 2025, to September this year.

Bangladesh's State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque on Tuesday said sports diplomacy would play a key role in normalising relations.

"The current government is giving utmost importance to sports diplomacy," Aminul was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

"And since cricket is a place of prestige for us, 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.

"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."

The bilateral series comprises three ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had earlier announced that it would be held in August-September before it was rescheduled for September.

The BCB floated a media rights tender on July 1, signalling progress towards the series, but the broadcast deal has since remained in logistical limbo.

The board has also said it is prepared to further tighten security arrangements for the series if required.

Earlier, Bangladesh's Sports Ministry constituted a committee to probe the reasons behind the country's withdrawal from the T20 World Cup, while another panel was set up to examine whether the decision reflected a diplomatic failure.