India's tour of Bangladesh could face another postponement

With barely two weeks to go before India's scheduled arrival in Bangladesh, the tour remains far from confirmed, and BCB president Tamim Iqbal has admitted the two boards are still working through the details on Thursday, leaving open the possibility of yet another delay.

India were originally meant to tour last August, before the BCCI pushed the series back a year amid strained political relations between the two countries.

The BCB followed up in January with an announcement that India would play three ODIs and three T20Is across Dhaka and Chattogram, but the BCCI has never confirmed the tour publicly on its own end.

That silence has fuelled speculation in recent days, not helped by the BCB's decision to schedule its own age-group tournament, the Game Development Trophy, in the same window the India series was pencilled in for.

Matches for that competition are set to run in Mirpur from 28 August to 9 September.

Asked directly whether the new tournament signalled India were no longer coming, Tamim brushed the suggestion aside, though he did concede the India dates themselves were still fluid.

"Both boards remain in discussion about the India series. The dates may be shifted here or there."

He explained that the age-group event could easily be relocated if needed, meaning it posed no real obstacle to India's tour going ahead as planned.

"This tournament is being held in Mirpur but it can be shifted to the Bashundhara ground in two minutes. If the India series is locked and fixed, we will schedule it accordingly."

The BCB's preliminary window for the series runs from 1 to 13 September, with the first ODI originally pencilled in for 3 September, though nothing has been finalised on whether that timeline survives, moves, or holds at all.

India, meanwhile, are currently contesting a two-match Test series in Sri Lanka and have a home series against Afghanistan scheduled for 13, 15 and 17 September, adding another layer of scheduling complexity.

The current uncertainty follows a period of serious tension between the two boards.

After the BCB's January announcement, Kolkata Knight Riders withdrew Mustafizur Rahman from that season's IPL, prompting the then BCB administration under Aminul Islam to refuse to send Bangladesh's team to the India co-hosted T20 World Cup.

Relations have improved considerably since Tamim took over as BCB president, with his visit to the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru earlier this month widely viewed as a gesture of goodwill aimed at repairing ties between the two boards.

Beyond the India question, Tamim used the press conference to defend the board's broader approach, insisting transparency would not be sacrificed regardless of how much criticism it invited.

"What is important to me is completely transparent cricket, maintaining everything properly and upholding the dignity of the Bangladesh Cricket Board before moving forward. If that means I have to face criticism from the media, I am willing to accept that."

He also highlighted the unusually high number of Bangladesh sides currently active on the international circuit, framing it as a rare opportunity to widen the talent pool.

"Around four teams are currently playing in different tournaments for Bangladesh, in South Africa and in Australia. This is quite a rare thing, it does not happen very often. The more opportunities they have to play, the more players we will be able to identify."