Efforts to preserve a six-match cricket series between Bangladesh and India next month have reached the ministerial level, with the foreign ministers of both countries engaged in talks, according to Bangladesh Sports Minister Aminul Haque.
Bangladesh and India Foreign Ministers Involved in Effort to Rescue Bilateral Cricket Series
Efforts to preserve a six-match cricket series between Bangladesh and India next month have reached the ministerial level, with the foreign ministers of both countries engaged in talks, according to Bangladesh Sports Minister Aminul Haque.
The series, comprising three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 matches, was originally scheduled for August of the previous year but was postponed after relations between Dhaka and New Delhi deteriorated.
According to the source, the diplomatic rift followed a mass uprising in Bangladesh in 2024 that resulted in the removal of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who subsequently fled to India, where she reportedly remains.
Haque stated on Monday that talks between the two sides' foreign ministers were ongoing, expressing hope that the situation would be resolved. 'We want to quickly resolve the deadlock that was created around the Cricket World Cup,' he said.
Earlier this year, Bangladesh declined to send a team to India for the T20 World Cup, citing security concerns. The International Cricket Council rejected Bangladesh's request to relocate their matches to Sri Lanka, and Scotland was brought in as a replacement.
India's most recent cricket tour of Bangladesh took place in 2022, with India winning the Test series 2-0 and Bangladesh winning the ODI series 2-1. Bangladesh subsequently toured India in September and October 2024 for two Tests and two T20 matches, with India winning both formats.
- The source does not identify which specific security concerns led Bangladesh to withdraw from the T20 World Cup in India.
- The source does not name the foreign ministers involved in the current talks.
- The source does not state whether a revised date or venue for the series has been proposed.
- The source does not specify where in India the series would be held.
- The source does not provide India's official position on the proposed tour.
- The source does not clarify the current status or whereabouts of Sheikh Hasina beyond that she is 'in hiding' in India.
- The source does not explain the precise nature of the security concerns cited by Bangladesh regarding the T20 World Cup.
Read the original at Al Jazeera English