Bangladesh Tour Hanging By A Thread After BCCI Green Lights India-Afghanistan Series

India's Bangladesh Tour Hanging By A Thread [Source: AFP]

In a latest development, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed the schedule for the upcoming T20I series against India in September, thus ruling out the possibility of the proposed India-Bangladesh series. 

The ACB confirmed that Afghanistan will host India in a three-T20I series on September 13, 15 and 17 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Since Afghanistan’s cricket infrastructure is poor, their home games will be played in India itself.

India’s tour of Bangladesh virtually cancelled

Having said that, the ACB’s confirmation of the India series has come as a huge blow to Bangladesh. The BCB had hoped that the men in blue would visit for a six-match white-ball series from September 1 to 13, 2026. 

The tour, which was originally scheduled in 2025 and later postponed due to cross-border conflict, reportedly received the green light from the BCB as the final decision lay at the hands of the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, since India's Afghanistan series begins on September 13, there is virtually no room left for the Bangladesh tour in the originally proposed window. 

So, unless the BCCI and BCB find a completely different window, the Bangladesh series cannot go ahead as planned. For now, neither the BCB nor the BCCI has yet to formally comment on the future of this proposed tour.

Also Read - Will India vs Bangladesh Cancellation Affect Bangladesh’s Qualification For 2027 World Cup?

Could India play Bangladesh later? 

Having said that, there is a possibility of finding another window after September. But the series being squeezed out of September doesn't necessarily mean the six matches can never happen. 

It could potentially be postponed and rescheduled if both boards and the relevant authorities agree on another window. However, India's international calendar is already crowded, so finding six additional white-ball matches could be difficult. 

India are scheduled to tour the West Indies and feature in the Asian Games 2026 after the Afghanistan series. Later, they will tour New Zealand and host Sri Lanka in December to mark the end of the calendar year. Hence, finding a window for another tour is nearly impossible.

Tamim Iqbal’s BCB will be hugely disappointed 

It’s no secret that since Tamim Iqbal took over as the president of the BCB, Bangladesh have been trying really hard to mend cricketing relations with the BCCI that got severed due to the 2026 T20 World Cup fallout.

Earlier, Iqbal had expressed optimism about the series taking place, saying the BCB requested the government to intervene and initiate conversations with the Indian authorities. 

However, it appears that the back-channel talks didn’t yield any results as the BCCI and ACB gave the final nod to the India-Afghanistan series. Now, it will be interesting to see how Tamim Iqbal tackles this situation, and it will definitely be a litmus test of his role as an administrator.

Also Read - India vs Afghanistan Dates Announced, Schedule Revealed For 3 T20Is