Bangladesh looking to improve ties with India after T20 World Cup fiasco

Bangladesh Cricket is keen to repair its cricketing ties with India following their decision to withdraw from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after their demand of change the venue of their matches was rejected.

The board officials and players have emphasised the importance of healthy bilateral relations between the two nations. The decision of skipping the marquee event had sparked conversations even within the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) about the need to strengthen ties with their South Asian neighbours.

The 2026 World Cup absence has been viewed as a rare mishap and the focus now is on moving forward constructively.

Aminul Haque, who has recently been appointed State Minister for Youth and Sports in Bangladesh, shed light on the matter. He revealed his intentions of improving the ties with the neighbouring countries, and it remains his priority.

"After attending the oath-taking ceremony today, I met with the Deputy High Commissioner of India at the Parliament building. I discussed this matter (T20 World Cup issue) with him. He was very friendly, and I also spoke to him in a friendly manner. I told him that we want to resolve this issue quickly through discussions because we want to maintain friendly relations with all our neighboring countries,” Haque was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

He further stated that he is not fully convinced with the Board's decision of not sending the team to the World Cup 2026 and stated that it could have been avoided if the situations were different.

"You know that because of diplomatic complications, we could not play in the World Cup. If those issues had been discussed and settled earlier, our team might have participated," he concluded. 

Bangladesh was replaced by Scotland in the multi-national tournament co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The Scottish team had a decent tournament, even though they failed to reach the Super 8 stage. In four group-stage matches, they managed to win one, against Italy, while also putting up a fight against England.