BCB seeks government backing to secure India tour

India’s long-awaited white-ball tour of Bangladesh has been thrown into fresh doubt, Future Tour Programme (FTP) reports suggesting the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering a three-match T20 International series against Afghanistan in Delhi next month.

The uncertainty comes despite the Bangladesh tour having already been postponed by 12 months. The original three-One Day International and three-T20I series, scheduled for last year, was deferred by mutual agreement and rearranged for later this month.

However, the proposed Afghanistan series has reignited speculation over whether India will honour its revised commitment to Bangladesh.

Should the additional T20Is be confirmed, they could create a scheduling conflict, placing the Bangladesh assignment in jeopardy once again.

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Tamim Iqbal met government high-ups on Thursday (30 July) to request that they initiate government-level communication to reassure their Indian counterparts that Bangladesh is ready to host India's men's national cricket team in September.

The current BCB boss was accompanied by BCB Security Committee chairman Sayeed Ibrahim during the visit to meet Shama Obaed Islam, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, at her office.

BCB president Tamim acknowledged the meeting when his attention was drawn to it by , without elaborating further.

According to an international media, BCB officials have asked government officials to communicate with India regarding the tour, as they are yet to receive any official confirmation regarding the series. India is expected to arrive in September to play the series comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is.

BCB president Tamim earlier, on 29 July, stated that they are hopeful about the series but added that there are certain lines he cannot cross, indicating that the matter is beyond his control and needs to be taken care of by the government, if nothing else.

The proposed Bangladesh-India series was originally scheduled for 2024 but was postponed following political unrest in Bangladesh. Although it was initially deferred to 2025, the tour remained uncertain amid strained relations between the two cricket boards.

The tour is yet to be finalized, and those in the know say there is renewed hope that the six-match white-ball series in Bangladesh could take place, given the latest developments in geopolitics.

Recently, news emerged that the Government of India invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to the 18th BRICS Summit (to be held in September), and the development has led to a sense of optimism in the relevant quarters.

BCB officials meeting the government high-ups is quite significant, considering the timing, as Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman, on 29 July, said Dhaka and New Delhi agreed on the need to reset and take forward bilateral ties on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual interests.

The announcement came after India's new High Commissioner to Bangladesh paid his first courtesy call on him.

"We both agree that our two countries' relations should move forward, keeping mutual interests at the forefront and, as I always say, on the basis of sovereign equality," Khalilur was quoted by Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha as telling reporters at the foreign office.

Asked for a government response to India's invitation to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to attend the upcoming 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, the foreign minister said, "We are currently reviewing it."