Aminul Haque, who took his oath as Bangladesh's New State Minister for Youth and Sports after the landslide victory of BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party), has aimed to better the strained ‘diplomatic complications’ with India during his oath. Notably, the strained ties ultimately led to Bangladesh's withdrawal from the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Haque, in his speech, mentioned repairing the relationship with India.
The minister, who has been a former captain and goalkeeper of the Bangladesh national football team, took over the position, succeeding Dr. Asif Nazrul, the now-ousted interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
“After attending the oath-taking ceremony today, I met with the Deputy High Commissioner of India at the Parliament building. I discussed this matter (T20 World Cup issue) with him," Aminul said after his swearing-in program on Wednesday, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
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“He was very friendly, and I also spoke to him in a friendly manner. I told him that we want to resolve this issue quickly through discussions because we want to maintain friendly relations with all our neighboring countries. From sports to all other sectors, we want to build a sincere and cordial relationship."
It is worth noting that Bangladesh had cited ‘security concerns’ for their Cricket players in India. ICC (International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected after deliberations, as they eventually replaced them with Scotland.
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“You know that because of diplomatic complications, we could not play in the World Cup," Aminul said. “If those issues had been discussed and settled earlier, our team might have participated," he said.
This development would be favorable for India from a political standpoint, as there were concerns that Bangladesh was strengthening its ties with Pakistan under the Yunus administration. Aminul Islam, the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), visited Lahore to express gratitude to Pakistan for its support of the nation.
Aminul Islam's Election As BCB Chief Was Questionable
"Regarding the Cricket Board election, I have said before and I still say that it was questionable."
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"Look, this matter is regulated by the ICC. Within the framework of the law and regulations, whatever needs to be done will be addressed through discussions. After sitting down and reviewing everything properly, I will comment further," Haque was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.