Aminul Haque, the former Bangladeshi national team footballer and the newly appointed sports minister of Bangladesh, has expressed his intention to sort out the issue with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well as the government of India.
Talks with Indian Officials Over T20 World Cup Absence
Aminul Haque told reporters that he wants to figure out this problem immediately, with respect to the participation of Bangladesh in the ongoing 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
He stated that he has met the deputy high commissioner of India and has discussed the T20 World Cup. He stated that it was a cordial conversation, and they want to resolve the issue quickly through discussions because they want to maintain friendly relations with all their neighboring countries.
Animul Emphasizes Cordial Relations
“After the oath-taking ceremony today, I met the deputy high commissioner of India at the Parliament House, I talked to him about the T20 World Cup, and our conversation was extremely cordial. I told him that we are eager to sort out this problem through talks so that we can retain our good relations with all our neighboring nations.” Animul quoted this on Tuesday after the new cabinet of Bangladesh was sworn in following the general elections.
Aminul Haque said that Bangladesh has a target to build a “sincere and cordial relationship” with India in all respects, including sports. He further added that the complexities of the diplomatic situation are the reasons why the country could not join the 2026 World Cup, which means that the resolution of these issues might have helped the country join the major tournament.
Why was Bangladesh substituted by Scotland in the T20 World Cup?
Bangladesh was replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka, because the last government in Bangladesh did not send their team to India but rather wanted to play in Sri Lanka.
The chain of events started with the Indian government asking the Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Mustafizur Rahman, the only player from Bangladesh in the IPL 2026, from their team and ended with the ICC not including the team in the big tournament.
ICC Confirms No Penalty for Bangladesh
However, in some good news for Bangladesh and the BCB, the ICC announced on February 9 that they will not be imposing any penalties on Bangladesh for not agreeing to play their T20 World Cup matches in India. The BCB has also been granted the rights to host an out-of-turn ICC event before the 2031 Men’s ODI World Cup, in which they are co-hosts with India.
“No, regardless of whether it is sports or something other than sports, we would certainly desire to foster a real and pleasant relationship with the nation of India. You know that because of some diplomatic issues, we could not participate in the World Cup. If those issues had been sorted out earlier, we could have participated,” Aminul Haque said.
As reported by some news sources covering the ICC notes, this commitment to hosting is set to happen within the window of 2028-2031, and this is intended to acknowledge the fact that Bangladesh is set to be one of the co-hosts of the 2031 World Cup while at the same time avoiding any penalties that could further increase tensions.
ICC Grants Bangladesh Future Hosting Rights
The ICC decision has been termed as an “opportunity” by Bangladesh’s new sports minister, Aminul Haque, who reiterated the government’s desire to “build a real and amicable relationship with India” and further added that the government would like to sort out the pending matters quickly through discussions and that it might have been possible for Bangladesh to take part in the 2026 tournament if it had been sorted out earlier.
It is thought that the ICC decision not to impose any kind of penalty and the assurance to host the tournament are to keep the sporting repercussions to a minimum and to keep the doors open for bilateral talks and future matches, including the tour of India in Bangladesh later this year, which is said to be possible if relations improve.
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ICC Decision and Future Hosting Rights for Bangladesh
This piece of news comes after Bangladesh was replaced by Scotland in the 2026 T20 World Cup because their demand to play all their matches outside of India could not be mutually agreed upon by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which was formed by them after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) pacer Mustafizur Rahman was withdrawn from the team following a directive from the BCCI due to concerns about atrocities committed against minorities in Bangladesh.
On February 9, the ICC officially announced that Bangladesh will not be punished for not wanting to play their T20 World Cup matches in India. Additionally, the BCB has been permitted to host an ICC event before the 2031 Men’s ODI World Cup, which Bangladesh will co-host with India.
