In a massive development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has instructed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) management to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their squad for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL). Mustafizur, who had earlier played in IPL for Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings, was bought for ₹9.20 crore by KKR in the IPL 2026 mini-auction last year in December.
The development around Mustafizur came amid a political storm from the several political parties and other religious institutions, who objected to the cricketer's inclusion in IPL 2026. The political backlash stems from the current strained relationship between the two countries.
Speaking to news agency ANI from Guwahati, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia revealed that the Indian board had instructed Shah Rukh Khan co-owned three-time champions KKR to release Mustafizur. Notably, the left-arm pacer was the only cricketer from Bangladesh to get a deal.
“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 and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement,” Saikia said on Saturday.
When did it all start?
Calls for the removal of Mustafizur first started when Hindu spiritual leader Devkinandan Thakur questioned KKR's decision to buy Mustafizur. Post that, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sangeet Som called Shah Rukh as traitor, stating Mustafizur's inclusion is in conflict with national interest. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam also had requested Shah Rukh to remove Mustafizur from KKR's IPL 2026 squad.
“If there is a Bangladeshi in Shah Rukh Khan's team, before he becomes a major target, we request that Shah Rukh Khan remove the Bangladeshi from his team. This will be for his own good and will also protect India's interests,” Nirupam was quoted as saying by the ANI.
Mustafizur Rahman's records in IPL
After Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur is the only Bangladeshi player to play consistently in the IPL. The left-armer made his IPL debut in 2016 and has since then played for teams likes Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings.
The 30-year-old was a part of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025 after coming in as a injury replacement player for Australian batter Jake Fraser-McGurk. So far, Mustafizur played 60 matches in IPL, taking 65 wickets and is known for his cutters at death overs.
KKR's IPL 2026 full squad without Mustafizur
Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Manish Pandey, Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Umran Malik, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, Akash Deep.
