Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman's release from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season has caused a rippling effect in the cricketing world, with the International Cricket Council (ICC) apparently being obliged to redraw the T20 World Cup calendar.  

Congress politician Shashi Tharoor has condemned Mustafizur's removal from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad, which was ordered by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), as "unnecessary politicization."

KKR released Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from its IPL 2026 squad as per the BCCI directive, which came amidst rising attacks on the Hindu religious minority and anti-Indian sentiments in Bangladesh.  

In response to rising anti-Indian sentiment in Bangladesh and the BCCI's disagreement with Mustafizur Rahman and KKR, the BCB has demanded that the 2026 T20 World Cup be transferred from India to Sri Lanka.

“I think it's an absolutely appalling decision by the BCCI. It is an unnecessary politicization of a sporting matter. And there are various aspects I object to. One is the fact 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.

So, if a player was in the pool, why is KKR to blame for selecting somebody from that pool? The first question is, “It makes no sense to object to the selection of someone whom the BCCI itself submitted to all the teams as an eligible player,” Tharoor told the Indian Express.

The BCCI is already at odds with the Pakistan Cricket Board. Due to the nature of India and Pakistan's political relations, the two nations' cricket teams do not compete in bilateral events.  

Tharoor, on the other hand, was disappointed that such a precedent had been formed for Bangladesh players.

“Bangladesh is not Pakistan. Bangladesh has not been dispatching terrorists across the border. It's not a comparable situation at all. Besides, our relationship with the two countries is also different. The stage of our negotiations and diplomacy with Bangladesh is not the same as with Pakistan. You cannot make a simple equation between the two,” he added.

Tharoor questioned if Bangladesh's Hindu players, like Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar, would have been released from the IPL if they had been sold in the auction, among other concerns about the BCCI's instruction.

“There is also a moral objection I have: why is it that sports and cricket alone have to bear the burden of social media outrage? There are so many other ways in which we interact with Bangladesh at various levels. But somehow, Cricket has to bear this. And one particular player—he has never condoned hate speech, and he has never said anything against India or against the Hindu minority in Bangladesh—he is just a sportsman. Who are we victimizing here?

"And if we have decided now that social media outrage will mean every Bangladeshi cricketer is ineligible to play in India, then what happens if a Bangladeshi Hindu cricketer like Litton Das or Soumya Sarkar—who are good players in Bangladesh and have played in the IPL in the past—had been picked this year? Would they also have been kicked out? And if not, then what are we signalling? Are we such an intolerant country that we are against Muslim Bangladeshis but not against Hindu Bangladeshis?” Tharoor added.

Tharoor further stated that BCCI decided under pressure from social media, and it demeaned the bilateral partnership between India and Bangladesh.

“This entire matter has not been thought through at all by anybody who took this reflexive decision, presumably in response to social media outrage. I find this absolutely preposterous. To my mind, it demeans us as a nation. It demeans our diplomacy. It demeans our bilateral relationship. It demeans our culture as a nation with a broad enough mind and a big enough heart to look at these things in a broader spirit,” he said.

Kolkata Knight Riders will be allowed one replacement player instead of Mustafizur Rahman.

(Indian Express inputs)