After huge speculations surrounding Mustafizur Rahman’s availability for Kolkata Knight Riders and anti-Bangladesh sentiment ruining their plans, BCCI has finally broken its silence on Rahman’s participation in the IPL.
In the IPL 2026 mini-auction, Kolkata Knight Riders had the largest purse of the auction, which meant they could buy any player in the auction. Despite buying Cameron Green and Mathisha Pathirana in the auction, they bought Mustafizur Rahman as their third most expensive player in the mini-auction.
The current situation in Bangladesh and intolerance towards Hindus has angered Indian Hindus and the anti-Bangladesh campaign is on the rise in India. Political and social controversies have taken a huge form and this has also affected the game of cricket.
BCCI announces decision on stand against Bangladesh players
After Mustafizur Rahman was signed as the only Bangladeshi player in the IPL 2026 mini-auction, the bidding team, Kolkata Knight Riders, has been receiving continuous threats and warnings to not let him feature in any games.
As the anti-Bangladesh movement became bigger and people were demanding to ban Bangladeshi players from IPL like Pakistani players since 2009, BCCI’s decision on this issue was eagerly awaited.
However, BCCI has given an absurd decision by claiming that they have not been informed about taking any such step by the Government of India, and such decisions are not limited to BCCI only. No clear instructions have been given on stopping the participation of Bangladesh players in IPL.
Commenting on the issue, a BCCI source told IANS: “Let’s not get into it. It is not in our hands. We have not received any instructions from the government to stop Bangladesh players from participating in the IPL…Can’t comment further right now.”
The religious sentiments of Sanatani Hindus were hurt by the signature of Mustafizur Rahman.
Apart from several political leaders of the BJP government, who made several lewd comments on KKR and its owner, Shah Rukh Khan, and even termed Mustafizur Rahman as a ‘traitor’ for favoring him, some other religious pundits have also stepped into the matter.
Spiritual guru Devkinandan Thakur criticized the KKR team and co-owner Shahrukh Khan, saying that they have hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and followers of Sanatan Dharma. These claims have emerged on the basis of brutal scenes of massacre and killing of innocent Hindus in the neighboring country.
Although many have once again emphasized that sports should stay away from political conflicts, these are considered on humanitarian grounds, and according to many political leaders and the general public of India, like Pakistan, the people of Bangladesh should also be treated the same.
A glimpse of Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL career
In contrast, Mustafizur Rahman is one of the finest fast bowlers Bangladesh has ever produced. Rahman has played in the IPL for over 8 seasons after making his debut with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016.
Since then, he played for Mumbai Indians in 2018, Rajasthan Royals in 2021, Delhi Capitals between 2022 and 2023, and finally Chennai Super Kings in 2024. He returned to Delhi Capitals last season as a replacement for Australian batsman Jake Fraser-McGurk.
Having played 60 matches in the IPL, Mustafizur Rahman has taken a total of 65 wickets and is a veteran of 250+ international games; Therefore, the huge sum of Rs 9.20 crore is in line with their standards.
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