BCB seeks new cricket partnerships with BCCI
Dhaka, April 4
The Bangladesh Cricket Board recently expressed their interest in existing and new areas of cooperation in cricket with the Board of Control for Cricket in India through a letter.
"We maintain regular communication with various countries' cricket boards. As part of that regular communication, we recently reached out to the Board of Control for Cricket in India via a letter, through an email, to communicate with them", Nazmul Abedin Fahim, Director (Cricket Operations) of BCB, told ANI, over the phone.
"In the letter, we mentioned that the Indian national cricket team is scheduled to come to Bangladesh in September to play a series, and after that, our women's team is supposed to go to India. We also included in the letter a request to explore any other possibilities for reciprocal cricket collaborations," he added.
Earlier, the Kolkata Knight Riders, ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL), had hired a Bangladeshi player, Mustafizur Rahman, to play in the tournament. However, due to political objections from local parties, the BCCI didn't permit Mustafizur to play. And this created a bit of a rift between Bangladesh and India.
After the controversy, Bangladesh boycotted the T20 World Cup in India.
After the election on February 12, under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the current government took power, and relations between Bangladesh and India have been improving.
On April 7 and 8, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, Dr. Khalilur Rahman, is visiting India. In the context of improving relations between the two countries, cooperation in cricket is also increasing.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting development. The Mustafizur Rahman incident was unfortunate – politics should stay out of sports. Good to see relations improving. More cricket exchanges will be great for fans in both countries.
As an Indian cricket fan, I welcome this. Bangladesh has passionate fans and their team is improving. But BCCI should be careful – we must ensure our players' security and that political issues don't disrupt tours. The boycott of the T20 World Cup was not a good look for them.
Cooperation is good, but let's not forget past tensions. The BCB boycotted a World Cup in India! We should collaborate, but it has to be a two-way street with mutual respect. Indian board shouldn't be taken for granted.
More cricket is always a yes from me! The India-Bangladesh matches are always thrilling, especially the close ones. Hope they plan a proper Test series too, not just white-ball games. The women's team exchange is a fantastic initiative.
From a neutral perspective, this seems like a pragmatic move by BCB. Aligning with BCCI offers huge benefits. The IPL angle is key – allowing their players into the league would be a major win for Bangladeshi cricket. Hope the politics are finally set aside.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.