The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had directed Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman amid the rising tension on the player’s inclusion in IPL 2026. In response, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) intends to approach the ICC to request a change of venue for their matches during the T20 World Cup 2026 matches.
Bangladesh are scheduled to play in Kolkata and Mumbai in the T20 World Cup that will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. A senior BCB official reportedly told that they will leave the decision to the ICC.
“I cannot make any comment regarding the release of Mustafizur as this is their internal matter, but as far as taking part in the World Cup is concerned, it is an ICC event, and they will make the final call after taking everything into consideration,” the BCB official was quoted as saying by Telecom Asia Sport.
The BCB intends to address the T20 World Cup issue with the ICC as soon as possible.
Mustafizur was earlier bought by the KKR for a sum of INR 9.2 Cr and his inclusion in the side faced backlash.
KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan also faced criticism. Hindu seer Jagadguru Rambhadracharya slammed SRK and called him traitor.
“His (Shah Rukh’s) approach has always been as that of a traitor.” Pointing to atrocities on Hindus in the neighbouring country, Jagadguru Rambhadracharya called this move of the 60-year-old Bollywood icon anti-national and said, “It is unfortunate (Shah Rukh Khan took Bangladeshi cricketer in KKR for IPL 2026), but he will do so because he is considered a hero,” he said during an interview with PTI.
“His character has always been questionable and anti-national,” he added.
“The way Hindus are being persecuted in Bangladesh, women and girls are being raped, their homes are being burned, and anti-India slogans are being chanted there. Despite all this, traitors like Shah Rukh Khan, I’m calling him a traitor because everything he has is given by India, given by the people of India, but where do they invest this money? They invest it in players from a country that is working against India,” ANI quoted Sangeet Som as saying.
Earlier, religious leaders in Ujjain had issued a stark warning to disrupt Indian Premier League (IPL) matches by damaging pitches if Mustafizur Rahman is allowed to participate. Recent incidents in Bangladesh have sparked widespread outrage.
