"On January 3, 2026, a single directive from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) quietly ended the Indian Premier League (IPL) season of Bangladesh's only cricketer in the tournament, Mustafizur Rahman, before it could even begin. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), a professional Twenty20 franchise based in Kolkata that competes in the IPL and is owned by Red Chillies Entertainment, associated with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, were instructed by India's cricket board to release the Bangladesh fast bowler."
"Not because of injury, form, or contract disputes, but due to developments all around an apparent reference to soaring tensions between India and Bangladesh that have been high since ousted former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received exile in New Delhi in August 2024. Within days, Mustafizur signed up for the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) protested sharply, the IPL broadcast was banned in Bangladesh,"
On January 3, 2026, the Board of Control for Cricket in India issued a directive requiring Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, ending his IPL season before it began. The instruction cited unspecified external developments linked to rising India–Bangladesh tensions after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina went into exile in New Delhi. Within days Rahman signed with the Pakistan Super League; the Bangladesh Cricket Board lodged formal protests and India’s IPL broadcast was banned in Bangladesh. The International Cricket Council was drawn into a diplomatic standoff. Observers say cricket is increasingly being used as a political tool in South Asia.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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