State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque said on Monday that the ministry is trying to resolve the ‘bitterness’ in Bangladesh’s cricketing relations with India that rose from the country’s non-participation in this year’s ICC T20 World Cup held in India.
"Efforts are underway to resolve the bitterness that developed over Bangladesh's non-participation in the last World Cup in India. Discussions have already been held with the Indian High Commission and the foreign ministries of the two countries," Aminul said.
"Sports are above everything. Through sports, we want to normalise bilateral relations with our friendly neighbouring country so that regular bilateral series can once again be held in both countries," he added.
Bangladesh are supposed to host India for a white-ball series in September. However, on August 11, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced a three-match T20I series against India in New Delhi from September 13-15, which clashes with the scheduled Bangladesh series.
A few days later, a number of Indian media outlets reported that the BCCI has sought approval from the government for the tour.
Earlier this year, Bangladesh did not participate in the T20 World Cup in India over security concerns after Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the Indian Premier League (IPL) under political pressure.
On Monday, the State Minister spoke to reporters after a meeting with presidents and general secretaries of ad hoc committees from 13 sports federations at the National Sports Council (NSC) auditorium, called to discuss development of the country's sports sector.
On Bangladesh's Test victory over Australia in Darwin, the State Minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has expressed willingness to honour the team. Reception details will be announced after the team's return, subject to the Prime Minister's approval.
Committees of 27 sports federations have been reconstituted, he said, with work continuing on the rest. A full list of new committees will be announced soon.
He said complications have arisen over participation of previous committee members at the September Asian Games, as team and official names were finalised for accreditation before the new committees took over. He instructed the BOA Secretary General to resolve the matter with the relevant federations.
Federations of carrom, gymnastics, karate, taekwondo, wushu, rowing, kho kho, handball, judo, fencing, weightlifting, amateur wrestling and rugby were present at the meeting.