New Delhi: After the appointment of the former Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal as the interim President of an 11-member ad-hoc committee, the BCB has got fresh hope of restoring the bilateral cricket ties with India. Under Tamim’s leadership, Bangladesh have formalised their interest in touring India and also invited the BCCI to the country for a bilateral series later this year.
The Men in Blue are already scheduled to tour Bangladesh under the current World Test Championship cycle. But this move is a massive development as the new administration in Dhaka is trying to improve relations between the two countries after the recent controversy.
Cricketing ties between the two nations hit a new low after the BCCI instructed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad, after which a big controversy erupted.
The Bangladesh interim government banned the IPL broadcast in the country and refused to play their T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India, demanding a venue change. But the International Cricket Council (ICC) declined their demand, and Bangladesh were eventually replaced by Scotland in the tournament.
The BCB ad-hoc committee also has a task of conducting fresh elections within the next 90 days, marking a transition phase in Bangladesh’s cricket administration after the removal of chairman Aminul Islam Bulbul.
Aminul Islam Bulbul seeks ICC’s intervention
The ousted president of the BCB, Aminul Islam Bulbul, wrote a letter to the ICC, stating that his removal from the board is illegal and seeking the intervention of the global body. During his tenure, Bulbul informed the ICC that the Bangladesh government had not permitted the national team to travel to India for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, citing official directives as the reason for their non-participation.
During his tenure as the BCB president, Bulbul informed the ICC that their government had not permitted the national team to travel to India for the T20 World Cup 2026, due to official directives as the reason for their non-participation.
“It is surprising that the same Bangladesh Cricket Board, which cited the Bangladesh government’s instruction to not play in India as the reason for its non-participation in the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in complete disregard of a binding Members Participation Agreement with the ICC, is now seeking protection from the ICC and its constitution from an enquiry by and directive of its government,” an ICC Director said as quoted by Cricbuzz.
During the online meetings with ICC officials, he was the toughest BCB member to deal with for the world body and, at one stage, he even refused to participate in the talks. .