India postpone Bangladesh women’s ODI and T20I tour

Dubai: Bangladesh’s scheduled tour of India, which was set to feature three ODIs and three T20Is in December, has been officially postponed. A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesperson confirmed that the board received formal notification from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stating that the series would be rescheduled.

According to the BCB, the BCCI has indicated that the white-ball fixtures will be arranged at a later date, though no new timetable has been provided. The BCCI’s communication did not include a specific explanation for the postponement.

“We will try to arrange an alternate series in December, but the details are still being discussed. As for the Bangladesh series, we did not get approval for it,” a BCCI source told PTI.

The decision is widely believed to be linked to ongoing political tensions between India and Bangladesh. Both boards had reportedly been monitoring the situation before reaching a conclusion.

“We have received a letter from the BCCI regarding the cancellation and are now waiting for updated dates or further information,” a BCB official told PTI.

The Bangladesh tour would have been India’s first assignment since winning the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup earlier this month. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the diplomatic strain between the two countries may have influenced the outcome. A tribunal court in Bangladesh recently handed down a death sentence to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for alleged crimes against humanity, triggering unrest and straining bilateral relations. Hasina is currently in exile in India, and Bangladesh’s interim government has requested her extradition.

The postponed series was part of the ICC Future Tours Programme and held significant value for India’s women’s cricket calendar. The ODIs were set to mark the beginning of a new Women’s ODI Championship cycle for both teams. The white-ball contests were also expected to be India’s final international matches ahead of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), with games planned for Kolkata and Cuttack.

This development comes after another scheduling change earlier in the year, when India’s men’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh — initially set for August 2025 — was shifted to September 2026. At that time, the BCCI attributed the adjustment to “international commitments and scheduling convenience,” while the BCB expressed enthusiasm for hosting India in 2026.

With the postponement of the women’s series, India will now look to secure a new opponent for December before players regroup with their WPL franchises. Following the league, the Indian women’s team is scheduled to tour Australia for an all-format series.