Bangladesh’s foreign ministry has become involved in efforts to rescue a six-match cricket tour against India scheduled for next month, as diplomatic tension between the two countries continues to threaten the fixture. Bangladesh Sports Minister Aminul Haque said late Monday that the matter is now “being worked on at the ministerial level,” with the foreign ministers of both nations engaged in talks to resolve the standoff.

The tour, comprising three one-day internationals and three T20 matches, was originally scheduled for August of last year but was postponed after relations between Dhaka and New Delhi deteriorated. The rupture followed Bangladesh’s 2024 mass uprising, which removed then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina from power. Hasina fled to India, a longtime ally, and remains there in hiding.

The strain has already disrupted cricket between the two countries once this year. In February, Bangladesh declined to send a team to India for the T20 World Cup, citing security concerns. The International Cricket Council rejected Bangladesh’s request to relocate its matches to Sri Lanka instead, and Scotland was brought in as a replacement.

Haque expressed optimism that the current impasse would be resolved. “We want to quickly resolve the deadlock that was created around the Cricket World Cup,” he said. “God willing, we are hopeful that it will be resolved very soon.”

The two sides have a recent history on the field despite the political friction off it. India’s last tour of Bangladesh, in 2022, produced a 2-0 Test series win for India, while Bangladesh took the one-day series 2-1. When Bangladesh toured India in September and October 2024 for two Tests and two T20 matches, India won both series.

No date has been set for a resolution to the current diplomatic talks, and it remains unclear whether next month’s series will proceed as planned.