India’s planned white-ball tour of Bangladesh, which would have seen the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to limited-overs cricket, has been effectively called off due to rising diplomatic friction. The tour, scheduled from August 17 to 31, was set to feature three ODIs and three T20Is but is now unlikely to proceed as scheduled.
According to a Cricbuzz report, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has paused the sale of the tour’s media rights and shifted focus to finalizing deals for the upcoming home series against Pakistan, starting July 17.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔,”
a BCB official told Cricbuzz, suggesting the board might look to reschedule the India series later.
Indian Broadcasters Informed of Cancellation
The uncertainty has left broadcasters in limbo. Indian networks were notified that the series would not be taking place.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝑻𝑻,”
an Indian broadcaster revealed.
The BCB has indicated that the final decision will be announced soon. “The date for the India series hasn’t been fixed yet. They (the BCCI) said it’s difficult for them to come in August. This is part of the FTP,” the BCB official added, referring to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme.
Diplomatic Standoff at the Heart of the Issue
Tensions have been escalating in the region since the Pahalgam attack, which strained India’s ties with Pakistan and, indirectly, with Bangladesh. According to the report, the Indian government has advised the BCCI not to proceed with the tour under current circumstances.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂, 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚, 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉,”
the report noted, highlighting that both cricket boards have so far refrained from making any formal statements.
Meanwhile, sources told NDTV that the Indian government has approved the participation of the Pakistan cricket team in the upcoming multi-nation tournaments hosted in India, despite the diplomatic tensions.
The fate of the India-Bangladesh series is expected to be confirmed within the next week as both boards await further instructions from their respective governments.
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