Bangladesh sports minister seeks to mend ties with India after cricket row

Newly appointed minister says discussions underway to restore cordial relations across sectors following tensions over tournament decision

Kolkata, February 19, 2026, dmanewsdesk: Bangladesh’s newly-appointed state minister for youth and sports Aminul Haque has signalled a desire to rebuild relations with India.

Relations between the two nations worsened in recent months after the Bangladesh cricket team declined to travel to India for the T20 World Cup citing security concerns. The move was a reaction to Kolkata Knight Riders’ decision to release Mustafizur Rahman from their squad following a BCCI directive. The ICC ultimately replaced Bangladesh with Scotland.

“After attending the oath-taking ceremony, I met with the deputy high commissioner of India at the Parliament building. I discussed this matter (T20 World Cup) with him. He was very friendly, and I also spoke to him in a friendly manner,” Haque was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

“I told him that we want to resolve this issue quickly through discussions because we want to maintain friendly relations with all our neighbouring countries. From sports to all other sectors, we want to build a sincere and cordial relationship,” he added.

Source: The Telegraph online