New Bangladesh government moves to resolve cricket dispute with India, Sports Minister meets India's high official

DHAKA: Bangladesh was removed from the T20 World Cup by the International Cricket Council (ICC) following a dispute related to cricket with India. Meanwhile, elections were held in Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) came to power under the leadership of Tarique Rahman. The newly sworn-in Sports Minister, Aminul Haque, said the government is trying to resolve the issues with India through diplomatic talks. Aminul Haque is a former prominent footballer who has represented Bangladesh.

“We want to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” Aminul Haque said. He added that he is keen to quickly restore relations with India and the Board of Control for Cricket in India. He also said that soon after taking office, he met India’s Deputy High Commissioner and discussed the T20 World Cup. He noted that necessary steps would be taken through discussions in line with ICC rules.

"Bangladesh wants to build sincere and friendly relations with India in all sectors, including sports. Bangladesh could not participate in the T20 World Cup due to diplomatic complications. Our team would have played if the issues had been resolved earlier," he said.

Earlier, following reports of violence against minority groups in Bangladesh, the BCCI, acting on government directions, removed Bangladesh player Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. This led to tensions between the BCCI and the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board then requested the ICC to shift their T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka and to change the group placement of Ireland and Bangladesh. The ICC rejected these requests, after which Bangladesh was left out of the World Cup and Scotland took their place. The new government is now trying to resolve these issues.