Last Updated on January 29, 2026 9:13 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Bangladesh has cleared its national shooting team to travel to India for next month’s Asian Rifle and Pistol Championships, despite earlier refusing permission for the national cricket team to participate in the T20 World Cup in India citing security concerns.
The shooting championships will be held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi from February 2 to 14, with over 300 shooters from 17 countries taking part. Bangladesh will send two rifle shooters, 21-year-old Arefin Shaira and 26-year-old Olympian Md Robiul Islam, who will compete in individual and mixed events. The Youth and Sports Ministry issued a government order on Wednesday approving the tour, stating the event would “not pose significant security risks” as it is an indoor competition held at a secured venue with a small contingent.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) confirmed Bangladesh’s participation. “So far there is no news that the Bangladesh team is not coming. Their team is coming, no doubt about it,” NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia said. He added that India’s Ministry of External Affairs had cleared the event and visa formalities were underway.
The decision comes amid controversy after Bangladesh withdrew from the T20 World Cup, scheduled across India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. The Bangladesh Cricket Board had cited security concerns and requested that its matches be shifted to Sri Lanka, a request rejected by the ICC. The ICC later said there was no verifiable security threat and replaced Bangladesh with Scotland, calling the decision unavoidable due to logistical constraints. Bangladesh officials argued that security risks associated with large cricket contingents, open stadiums and multi-city travel were fundamentally different from a small, controlled indoor shooting event.