IPL 2026: Not all BCCI members consulted for Mustafizur Rahman's ouster from KKR? Details here

The decision to instruct IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was not discussed among members of the Indian cricket board, nor was the league’s governing council consulted.

The move, which eventually led to Bangladesh refusing to travel to India for next month’s T20 World Cup, was taken at the highest level of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), The Indian Express has learnt.

“We ourselves got to know about this through the media. There was no discussion. No suggestion was taken from our side,” a top BCCI official, who is also associated with the IPL, told this newspaper.

The BCCI ordered KKR to release the 30-year-old pacer from their squad despite picking him for ₹9.20 crore in the mini auction due to "recent developments".

On Saturday, explaining the board’s stand, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had said, “Due to the recent developments that are going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad.”

On Monday, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting banned the telecast of IPL matches in the country, stating that the move “to release” Mustafizur “has hurt and angered the Bangladesh citizens”.

“Due to this, a request is made as per instructions to stop the broadcast/ telecast of all matches and programmes of the Indian Premier League,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ongoing political crisis between the two countries has increasingly spilled over into cricket in recent months. The Bangladesh women’s tour of India has been postponed indefinitely, while the Indian men’s tour of Bangladesh scheduled for August remains uncertain.

Bilateral tensions have escalated over the past few weeks following the lynching and burning to death of a Hindu man in Bangladesh over allegations of blasphemy. Last month, India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned what it described as “unremitting hostility against minorities”.

Bangladesh’s interim leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus condemned the lynching, saying there was no space for such violence in the new Bangladesh. “The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared,” his government had said.

Against this backdrop, KKR’s decision to pick Mustafizur for IPL 2026 led to the franchise owner, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, being targeted.

Among those criticising the move was spiritual leader Jagadguru Rambhadracharya, who called the actor “anti-national”. Shiv Sena leader Anand Dubey said Rahman would not be allowed to play at “any cost”. Later, welcoming the decision to oust Mustafizur, West Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said: “Like Pakistani cricketers are not allowed to play in India, Bangladeshi cricketers should not be allowed in India.”

The reaction from Bangladesh was equally sharp. Asif Nazrul, the interim government’s adviser for youth and sports, wrote in a Facebook post: “We won’t stand for any insult to Bangladesh’s cricket, cricketers and the country. The days of slavery are over.”