Thank you, Pakistan: Bangladesh reveals big cricket nexus against India
Bangladesh's sports adviser Asif Nazrul thanked Pakistan for backing Dhaka's boycott of the T20 World Cup, after Islamabad decided to skip its match against India in Colombo. A day earlier, Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif publicly justified the move as standing "completely" with Bangladesh. This exposed how both governments made cricket a theatre of a political engagement against India.
It is now out in the open. Bangladesh and Pakistan silently joined hands over the T20 World Cup 2026 against India. Bangladesh's Sports Adviser, Asif Nazrul, thanked Islamabad for backing the country's boycott of the tournament with its own boycott of a game against India in Colombo.
"Thank you, Pakistan," Nazrul posted on Facebook. "Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that his country has decided to boycott the match against India in protest of Bangladesh being excluded from the T20 World Cup," he added.
Nazrul is the Sports Adviser in the unelected interim set-up led by Muhammad Yunus. The adviser functions like the minister of the department. In effect, Nazrul is the sports minister of the interim regime that was installed after Sheikh Hasina's government was ousted in the July-August 2024 agitation.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been told by the Sharif government to skip the February 15 game against India in Colombo after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland for refusing to play its games on Indian soil over "security concerns".
The thank-you note from Nazrul comes a day after a statement by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
"We have taken a very clear stand on the T20 World Cup that we won't play the match against India because there should be no politics on the sports field," Sharif stated at a government meeting in Islamabad.
"We have taken a very considered stance, and we should completely stand by Bangladesh, and I think this is a very appropriate decision. We are with Bangladesh," he added.
Sharif's remarks were the first official comments from either the Pakistan government or the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that made public the reason behind the boycott of the T20 World Cup match.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)'s claim that India was unsafe for its cricketers collapsed because of its own contradictions. Days after Dhaka's cricket board refused to send its team to India for the T20 World Cup citing security concerns, a Bangladeshi shooter was cleared by Dhaka to land in New Delhi to compete in the Asian Shooting Championships.
Cricket politics is in line with the changes taking place on the ground in Bangladesh after the fall of the Hasina government. The post-Hasina regime has seen a shift towards Pakistan, from which it fought for liberation in 1971. Pakistan has been reciprocating.
Last week, Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed Dhaka-Islamabad direct flights after a gap of 14 years.
HOW IS BANGLADESH GRAVITATED TOWARDS PAKISTAN AFTER FALL OF HASINA REGIME?
After the fall of Hasina's regime in August 2024, ties between India and Bangladesh have been strained over various issues like border security, minority rights, and even over a political murder in Dhaka. Political leaders of Bangladesh, who led the Islamist-backed protests against Hasina, have repeatedly spewed venom on India, attacking its territorial integrity.
Since then, Bangladesh and Pakistan have strengthened ties through multiple high-level engagements. Yunus regime's chief Muhammad Yunus met PM Shehbaz Sharif twice and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Dhaka.
A 27% surge in bilateral trade between August and December 2024 followed by a 20% year-on-year increase by December 2025 was reported. They signed a memorandum on trade aiming for $1 billion in agreements and investments, according to The Diplomat, a Washington DC-based news magazine.
Military cooperation has also deepened. The Bangladeshi Air Force chief visited Pakistan in January and expressed interest in acquiring the China-Pakistan-made JF-17 fighter jets. He even met Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces, Asim Munir. Forces of both nations participated in the Aman-25 maritime exercise.
Direct sea trade resumed for the first time since 1971.
Pakistani vessels have been provided with allowances at Mongla port. Visa relaxations have been made. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan performed in Dhaka.
So, Pakistan's support for Bangladesh over the ICC Cricket World Cup 2026 row, is part of Dhaka's overall recalibration after the Hasina regime's fall. It is less a sporting dispute and more a political one. Cricket is not the cause of Dhaka's recalibration, but the proof of where Bangladesh's Islamist-backed interim regime wants to be seen standing.
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It is now out in the open. Bangladesh and Pakistan silently joined hands over the T20 World Cup 2026 against India. Bangladesh's Sports Adviser, Asif Nazrul, thanked Islamabad for backing the country's boycott of the tournament with its own boycott of a game against India in Colombo.
"Thank you, Pakistan," Nazrul posted on Facebook. "Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that his country has decided to boycott the match against India in protest of Bangladesh being excluded from the T20 World Cup," he added.
Nazrul is the Sports Adviser in the unelected interim set-up led by Muhammad Yunus. The adviser functions like the minister of the department. In effect, Nazrul is the sports minister of the interim regime that was installed after Sheikh Hasina's government was ousted in the July-August 2024 agitation.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been told by the Sharif government to skip the February 15 game against India in Colombo after Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland for refusing to play its games on Indian soil over "security concerns".
The thank-you note from Nazrul comes a day after a statement by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
"We have taken a very clear stand on the T20 World Cup that we won't play the match against India because there should be no politics on the sports field," Sharif stated at a government meeting in Islamabad.
"We have taken a very considered stance, and we should completely stand by Bangladesh, and I think this is a very appropriate decision. We are with Bangladesh," he added.
Sharif's remarks were the first official comments from either the Pakistan government or the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that made public the reason behind the boycott of the T20 World Cup match.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)'s claim that India was unsafe for its cricketers collapsed because of its own contradictions. Days after Dhaka's cricket board refused to send its team to India for the T20 World Cup citing security concerns, a Bangladeshi shooter was cleared by Dhaka to land in New Delhi to compete in the Asian Shooting Championships.
Cricket politics is in line with the changes taking place on the ground in Bangladesh after the fall of the Hasina government. The post-Hasina regime has seen a shift towards Pakistan, from which it fought for liberation in 1971. Pakistan has been reciprocating.
Last week, Bangladesh and Pakistan resumed Dhaka-Islamabad direct flights after a gap of 14 years.
HOW IS BANGLADESH GRAVITATED TOWARDS PAKISTAN AFTER FALL OF HASINA REGIME?
After the fall of Hasina's regime in August 2024, ties between India and Bangladesh have been strained over various issues like border security, minority rights, and even over a political murder in Dhaka. Political leaders of Bangladesh, who led the Islamist-backed protests against Hasina, have repeatedly spewed venom on India, attacking its territorial integrity.
Since then, Bangladesh and Pakistan have strengthened ties through multiple high-level engagements. Yunus regime's chief Muhammad Yunus met PM Shehbaz Sharif twice and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Dhaka.
A 27% surge in bilateral trade between August and December 2024 followed by a 20% year-on-year increase by December 2025 was reported. They signed a memorandum on trade aiming for $1 billion in agreements and investments, according to The Diplomat, a Washington DC-based news magazine.
Military cooperation has also deepened. The Bangladeshi Air Force chief visited Pakistan in January and expressed interest in acquiring the China-Pakistan-made JF-17 fighter jets. He even met Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces, Asim Munir. Forces of both nations participated in the Aman-25 maritime exercise.
Direct sea trade resumed for the first time since 1971.
Pakistani vessels have been provided with allowances at Mongla port. Visa relaxations have been made. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan performed in Dhaka.
So, Pakistan's support for Bangladesh over the ICC Cricket World Cup 2026 row, is part of Dhaka's overall recalibration after the Hasina regime's fall. It is less a sporting dispute and more a political one. Cricket is not the cause of Dhaka's recalibration, but the proof of where Bangladesh's Islamist-backed interim regime wants to be seen standing.
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