Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina will visit Kolkata at the invitation of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president-elect Sourav Ganguly to watch a Test match between Bangladesh and India.
The PM will join the thousands of fans at the historic Eden Gardens to enjoy the Test, beginning on Nov 22, sources at West Bengal cricket governing body Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) confirmed Bangla Tribune on Monday (Oct 219).
According to the CAB sources, the association sent an invitation to PM Hasina some time back prior to its CAB chief Sourav Ganguly being elected to be the next BCCI president.
After that, the Prime Minister's Office from Dhaka replied the CAB through email on Monday evening informing that PM Hasina will visit Kolkata to watch the Nov 22 Test match, the sources added.
Bangladesh's tour of India will start on Nov 3 with the Tigers will play three T20s and two Test matches . The second Test will begin at the Eden Gardens on Nov 22.
During Bangladesh's pervious tour of India, the Tigers played a one-off Test against the host at Hyderabad.
At that time, skipping Eden Gardens, located at the heart of the Bengali-populated Kolkata, as the venue raised questions among the fans.
However, Hasina's confirmation came amid the Bangladesh national cricketers went on a strike with an 11-point demand that apparently put the upcoming tour of India in jeopardy for a while.
Earlier in the day at a media call in Dhaka's Mirpur, the senior cricketers, including the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim, expressed their discontent over the functioning of the game in the country before boycotting all cricketing activities till their demands are realised.
Their demands were related to increasing the payment structure and practice facilities in Dhaka Premier League, National Cricket League and Bangladesh Premier League among others.
After the PMO's letter to the CAB in the evening, it's now certain that the tour is going to held on time.
With the upcoming trip, Hasina will visit India twice within two months. She had been in Delhi on an official tour by the first of October.
Meanwhile, the CAB plans to send an special invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to watch the Test match at Eden Gardens, said sources close to CAB president Sourav Ganguly.
But, it is still unclear whether PM Hasina would have an audience with her Indian counterpart  even if Modi comes to Kolkata during the game.
Enjoying game by the heads of the governments sitting alongside is nothing new in the Sub-Continent.
In mid 1980s, Pakistan military ruler General Ziaul Haque took a surprise visit to watch a Test match against their arch-rival at India's Joypur ground.
Genral Zia alongside then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi enjoyed the game. To date, the event remains a moment to remember in the history of cricket and diplomacy in the Sub-Continent.
Nowadays, the relation between India and Pakistan is in no way comparable to that of Delhi's ties to Dhaka.
In that case Hasina and Modi sit side by side at the Eden Gardens to watch the Test it will definitely create another memorable event in the history of cricket and politics in the Sub-Continent.