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The Bangladesh Cricket Board is stressing sports diplomacy with India as they are looking forward to hosting their neighbor in September. The two countries have been having a strained relationship during the Yunus government.

The present State Minister of Youth and Sports Animul Haque, spoke to the media on Tuesday, where he claimed that he is in touch with the Indian Embassy. Earlier, he said that the country is looking after the security measure, which will be increased further if required. And now, in Dhaka, Haque said,

“The current government is giving utmost importance to sports diplomacy. And since cricket is a place of prestige for us, since cricket has a very strong position in our world cricket…we have already spoken to the Indian Embassy, they have also spoken to us and they are all waiting for India to come to Bangladesh in September."

He added,

“After arriving, I think that we will overcome the tension that was there (between the two countries) over a small incident in the past and hopefully our sports diplomacy, our communication, our movement, everything will continue with our neighboring country."

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There was a previously scheduled white ball series last year. However, it was postponed due to political reasons. Bangladesh claimed that they were in continuous talks with the BCCI and announced that they are ready host India around September this year.

However, fresh uncertainty surrounded the series after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) suspended the media rights sale process, despite earlier issuing a tender inviting bids. Cricbuzz was the first to report the development on July 1.

Meanwhile, BCB had recently put the television and media rights for India's tour up for sale, indicating that the series was likely to go ahead. To create space in the calendar, the BCB also postponed its scheduled away tour of Ireland.

Also, the BCCI is considering shifting India's home T20I series against Afghanistan from September 13 to September 17 to accommodate the Bangladesh fixtures. Despite these developments, the tour is yet to receive official confirmation, as the BCCI is awaiting the Government of India's routine diplomatic and security clearances before giving the final approval.