BCCI to seek govt nod for white-ball tour of Bangladesh

The series, originally planned for last year, was put off amid political tension between India and Bangladesh

Mumbai: The fate of India’s once-postponed white-ball tour of Bangladesh is now contingent on a late thaw in relations between the two countries and the response of the two governments.

Bangladesh's players celebrate during a T20I against Zimbabwe on July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mkhululi Thobela)

“The BCCI will seek directions from the Indian government. Only if they give a nod would the tour go ahead,” a BCCI official said.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has constantly been in touch with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ever since former skipper Tamim Iqbal took over as BCB president from Aminul Islam Bulbul. And Iqbal badly wants the series to happen.

For the India series, BCB is looking at the window between late August and mid-September.

However, the latest turn of political events has left BCB less hopeful. Recently, former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina, currently on exile in India, said she was prepared to face arrest, imprisonment or even death, but would return to her homeland. Bangladesh has asked India for Hasina’s extradition.

Government permissions for bilateral series are usually a formality — the only exception being Pakistan — but India-Bangladesh relations also have been strained for more than a year.

India were to originally play a white-ball series (3 T20Is and 3 ODIs) in Bangladesh in 2025 before it was deferred by a year following political tensions between the two countries.

At the time, a BCCI statement had cited “international cricketing commitments and scheduling convenience of both teams” as the reason behind the postponement.

Subsequently, the Bangladesh women’s tour of India comprising three ODIs and three T20Is in December and part of the ICC Future Tour Programme was also postponed.

Relations between BCB and BCCI soured after the Indian cricket board instructed IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders in January to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their squad, amid deteriorating relations between the countries, without specifying a reason for the directive. Bangladesh’s then sports advisor Asif Nazrul led the demand to move Bangladesh’s 2026 T20 World Cup matches out of India.

With the Bangladesh general elections round the corner, the government refused to back down despite discussions with International Cricket Council (ICC). It finally resulted in BCB deciding against playing the World Cup matches in India. Scotland replaced Bangladesh in the World Cup fixtures. Pakistan played their matches in Sri Lanka.