Intro
Aminul Islam hopeful of dialogue during high-profile Colombo encounter
Dhaka
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam will be in Colombo on February 15 to witness the marquee India-Pakistan T20 World Cup clash, expressing hope that the occasion could help thaw recent tensions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Islam said that he has been invited by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which wants representatives of the five Asian member nations — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan — to attend the match together. The move is being viewed as an attempt to foster dialogue among key stakeholders following weeks of strain.
“You can consider it as something like that,” Islam said when asked whether the meeting could serve as an ice-breaker with the BCCI.
Relations between the two boards deteriorated after the BCCI ordered the release of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from his IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders, citing unspecified “developments all around.” The decision triggered speculation amid reports of political unrest in Bangladesh.
Subsequently, the BCB declined to send its team to India for the T20 World Cup, citing security concerns. However, the ICC assessed the threat perception as low to moderate and rejected Bangladesh’s reservations. The standoff resulted in Bangladesh being replaced by Scotland in the tournament, prompting further diplomatic ripples, including a brief boycott call from Pakistan before it was withdrawn.
In a conciliatory development, the ICC chose not to penalise Bangladesh and allotted the country an ICC event in the 2028–2031 cycle.
Islam said the BCB plans to formalise assurances through a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the ICC to avoid future ambiguities. “The agreement will be line by line, so that there is no uncertainty,” he asserted. ————————————————————————————————————-