The Indian cricket team was supposed to tour Bangladesh next month for three ODIs and three T20Is, as part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP). The schedule had been finalised by both boards as of April. However, in early July, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced that India was postponing the tour—delaying it by over a year, with a tentative date now in September 2026. Neither BCB nor BCCI gave any clear reason.

A similar scenario unfolded in football. In early June, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) withdrew from the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship in Dhaka, citing no formal explanation. The tournament is now ongoing with only four teams in a different format.

Within a span of just a few weeks, India has either withdrawn from, postponed, or objected to three sports events involving Bangladesh. There’s no official explanation, but reports in Indian and international media hint at the real reasons.

On 2 July, BBC Bangla reported that India’s Ministry of External Affairs has reservations about the cricket team’s tour of Bangladesh due to the “political climate.” A source in New Delhi told the BBC that current diplomatic situation and India’s “negative perception” of Bangladesh’s internal political situation make such a tour inappropriate.

Yet sending a team for a several week tour and attending a two-day board meeting are not the same. So why is BCCI opposing the AGM in Dhaka so strongly?

This year’s ACC AGM is crucial for the Asia Cup, scheduled for August–September in India, though the dates are not finalised. Earlier uncertainty arose after India-Pakistan military tensions in May, when Indian coach Gautam Gambhir openly said, “India shouldn’t play Pakistan.”

Later, however, BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla clarified that India can play Pakistan in multilateral events—reviving hopes for the Asia Cup. Some Indian media even published a possible schedule, including an India–Pakistan match on 7 September.

Yet now BCCI is pushing back against the AGM itself.