New Delhi: Bangladesh has reached out to Indian authorities to confirm the tour of the Indian Men’s Cricket Team to the country next month. The series originally scheduled for 2024 has since been rescheduled twice, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) pushing for the tour to be held in September 2026.
In a letter dated 30 July 2026, BCB President Tamim Iqbal asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to confirm that the tour is indeed happening in September. The letter was addressed to Mithun Manhas, the president of BCCI. The BCB has also reached out to the government in Dhaka to help ensure that the white-ball series happens this year.
The series comprises three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). Originally scheduled for 2024, the series was rescheduled following the political uncertainty in Bangladesh. Last September, the series was further rescheduled to this year, as ties between India and Bangladesh continued to deteriorate.
Iqbal met Shama Obaed Islam, the State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, last week, seeking government intervention to ensure the series goes forward, according to media reports. However, the BCCI is yet to confirm its participation.
The Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi has reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs seeking its help to expedite the matter with the relevant authorities and the BCCI, “given the significance of the matter in the context of people-to-people connectivity and wider relations” between the two countries, in a letter Monday, seen by ThePrint.
Dhaka is optimistic that the series will happen this time, given the calibrated stabilisation in ties. While a number of irritants and challenges remain, the two countries have engaged at various levels this year.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman made a stop-over visit to New Delhi in May and held meetings with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi was raised to cabinet rank earlier this year, and has since engaged extensively with stakeholders in Dhaka.
Trivedi met Foreign Minister Rahman last week, as well as State Minister Shama Obaed Islam. Striking a positive note after the meeting, Trivedi told local media that there is “no problem” that cannot be sorted out with “mutual understanding”.
“The Foreign Minister congratulated the Indian High Commissioner on his appointment and assured him of the ministry’s full cooperation during his tenure. Reaffirming the ‘Bangladesh First’ policy, he underscored Bangladesh’s commitment to a forward-looking and mutually respectful relationship with India based on sovereign equality, mutual trust and understanding and mutual benefit,” the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh said in a statement last Wednesday after the meetings.
Cricket has long been seen as an important people-to-people connection among South Asian countries. As diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh deteriorated, so did ties between the BCCI and BCB. Bangladeshi pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman was excluded from the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, which led to Bangladesh banning the broadcast of the tournament.
The BCB also withdrew the men’s team from the T20 World Cup co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The decision came after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected the BCB’s request to move all games to Sri Lanka citing security concerns. Scotland replaced Bangladesh in the tournament.
However, since these episodes, Tarique Rahman was elected Prime Minister and assumed power in February this year, which has changed equations between New Delhi and Dhaka.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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