In a week riddled with uncertainty, political undertones, and last-minute decisions, Dhaka has played host to one of the most pivotal Asian Cricket Council (ACC) gatherings in recent memory. The Annual General Meeting (AGM), underway this Thursday and Friday, marks the first time such a high-level continental cricket summit has convened in Bangladesh — a noteworthy milestone for the region’s sporting diplomacy.
Much of the prelude to the meeting centred around speculation. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) initially opposed Dhaka as the venue, seeking relocation and threatening non-participation. Sri Lanka’s attendance also hung in the balance. Yet, as Thursday dawned, clarity began to emerge: both India and Sri Lanka opted to join virtually, a pragmatic compromise that allowed diplomacy to triumph over friction.
ACC President Mohsin Naqvi — who also serves as Pakistan’s interior minister — arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday and was warmly received by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Aminul Islam. His presence in the capital signals the gravity of the occasion and underscores Bangladesh’s increasing stature in regional cricket affairs.
While the AGM’s agenda is broad, the Asia Cup — tentatively scheduled for September — remains its crown jewel. With the BCCI as designated host but Pakistan reportedly reluctant to travel across the border, the path to a confirmed fixture list and venue announcement has been anything but straightforward. Whether those decisions will finally materialise in Dhaka remains to be seen.
The gathering is more than mere administrative formalities. It began on Wednesday with a CEO-level meeting, followed by a diplomatic dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel, where cricketing officials mingled with players from both Bangladesh and Pakistan. That blend of sport and statesmanship is at the heart of what the ACC must now nurture — regional unity through cricket, not in spite of it. Delegates from across the ACC’s 27 member nations — most present physically, some attending remotely — are also expected to be in attendance at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium to witness the third and final T20I between Bangladesh and Pakistan. The timing couldn’t be more poetic. This AGM, quietly historic in setting and tone, may not deliver thunderous headlines overnight. But it has already achieved something vital: keeping cricket’s corridors of power talking — across borders, across screens, and, for the first time in Bangladesh, across the same table.
