On Saturday, January 3rd, the BCCI officially directed the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladeshi spinner Mustafizur Rahman from their Squad for the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League.
Devajit Saikia, the Secretary of BCCI, stated that the “developments all across” are the reason behind the order. At the player’s auction last month, Kolkata Knight Riders acquired Rahman’s services at 9.20 crore after a bidding with Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings.
BCCI stated that the team will be allowed to name a replacement player in place of Mustafizur. The auction of the player has led to huge chaos in the country, given the current sensitive situation in Bangladesh and the fragile Indo-Bangladeshi relations. The team is co-owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who has also come under the radar for the auction.
In Maharashtra, the political parties and spiritual leaders have specially targeted Khan for taking Rahman in the team’s Squad, as they continued to call him an anti-national.
A Hindu man was killed in Bangladesh a few days ago, and the incident has sparked debates about the protection of the Hindu minority in the country. This has led to the issue becoming amplified.
Rahman has already featured in 8 IPLs, his debut in 2016, excluding only the ones in 2019 and 2020. He has played for the Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Rajasthan Royals. It was his first time with KKR in the upcoming season.
Due to the uncertain situations, the two countries have postponed the bilateral white-ball series. On Friday, 2 January, the Bangladeshi cricket board informed that the series will be played in the country this year in September, but the BCCI has not committed to the schedule.
New Delhi and Dhaka have been on a fragile crossroad after the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took refuge in India last year. The recent crisis in the country and the anti-Indian stance by several factions have further worsened ties.
