Bangladesh’s newly elected sports minister Aminul Haque has pledged to swiftly resolve issues with India following the country’s exclusion from the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026.
Speaking after the new cabinet was sworn in following general elections, Aminul said he met India’s deputy high commissioner at Parliament to discuss the tournament dispute and bilateral relations.
He described the meeting as cordial and said Bangladesh intends to settle the matter through dialogue while maintaining friendly and constructive relations with neighbouring countries, including India.
Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the ongoing marquee tournament in India and Sri Lanka, after the previous government decided against sending the team to play matches in India.
The dispute followed geopolitical tensions and began when the Indian government asked Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Mustafizur Rahman, the only Bangladesh player in IPL 2026, from their squad.
The chain of events ultimately led the International Cricket Council to exclude Bangladesh from the tournament.
On February 9, however, the ICC announced that Bangladesh would not face any penalties for refusing to stage or play their scheduled T20 World Cup matches in India.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board was also awarded hosting rights for an out-of-turn ICC event before the 2031 men’s ODI World Cup, which Bangladesh will co-host alongside India.
Aminul said diplomatic complications had prevented participation and suggested that earlier dialogue and engagement between the two sides might have allowed Bangladesh to feature in the competition.
India are scheduled to tour Bangladesh in September for three One-Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals, a series that had earlier been postponed from August 2025.
