Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said cricket should not fall victim to the ‘delicate diplomatic and political relationship’ between India and Bangladesh.
Tharoor’s remarks came against the backdrop of tensions between the two countries over reports of violence against Hindus and the BCCI’s direction to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to drop Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from the coming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“I think it’s an absolutely appalling decision by the BCCI," Tharoor said on BCCI instructing KKR to release Rahman from the IPL squad.
“It is an unnecessary politicisation of a sporting decision. And there are various aspects I object to,” Tharoor, who is chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, told the Indian Express in an interview.
One is that, purely as a cricketing decision, it makes no sense because teams were invited to choose from a registered pool of players selected by the BCCI, Tharoor said. “So if a fellow was in the pool, why is KKR to blame for selecting somebody from that pool? So, the first question is that it makes no sense to object to the selection of somebody whom the BCCI has submitted to all the teams as an eligible player,” he said.
Tharoor admitted that there are inflamed passions on the streets in Bangladesh that have resulted in attacks on minorities, which in turn have inflamed opinions in India. However, he says, the government has nonetheless been attempting to manage the diplomatic persuasion to bring about some sense of calm and normalcy in the lead-up to the Bangladesh elections next month.
“We have also tried to greet Tariq Rahman (chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and son of ex-PM Khaleda Zia), who many people see as a likely future Prime Minister after the elections,” he said.
When asked if it will lead to a Pakistan-like situation with Bangladesh, where there is no more bilateral cricket, Tharoor responded, “No, Bangladesh is not Pakistan. Bangladesh has not been dispatching terrorists across the border. It’s not a comparable situation at all”
And besides, the former Union Minister said, India’s relationship with the two countries is also different. “And the stage of our negotiations or our diplomacy with Bangladesh is different from our relationship with Pakistan. You cannot make a simple equation between the two,” he said.
Earlier Comments
Tharoor had earlier criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were instructed to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad for the upcoming IPL 2026 season.
Tharoor questioned the rationale behind the decision and warned against mixing religion, nationality and sport.
Mustafizur Rahman, a cricketer from Bangladesh, had come under political scrutiny amid reports of attacks on Hindu minorities in the neighbouring country. Tharoor reiterated that holding an individual sportsperson accountable for developments in another country was unjustified.
It is an unnecessary politicisation of a sporting decision.
Tharoor also said that cricket should not be burdened with political disputes. "Mustafizur Rahman is a cricketer and has nothing to do with any of these things. He has not been personally accused of any hate speech or condoning or defending any attacks. Mixing these two things is simply not fair," he had told reporters and cautioned against isolating neighbouring countries, arguing that such actions would not serve India's long-term interests.
