The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has instructed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their squad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the decision and said the board will allow KKR to sign a replacement player if the franchise chooses to do so.
“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 told an India media outlet.
Rahman was the only Bangladeshi player to be sold in the IPL 2026 auction held in Abu Dhabi on December 16. He was bought by KKR for Rs9.2 crores.
Mustafizur has been a fixture in the IPL since 2016, playing for multiple franchises including Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, and Chennai Super Kings. The left-arm pacer has taken 65 wickets in 60 matches at an economy rate of 8.13. Last season, he returned to Delhi Capitals as an injury replacement.
The decision follows threats from a hardliner Hindutva activists who warned they would beat up Bangladeshi cricketers if they participated in the IPL. The activists also issued a warning to Bollywood star and KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan against allowing Bangladeshi players to represent his team.
Relations between the two South Asian neighbors have deteriorated sharply in recent weeks. Dhaka suspended visa and consular services at its missions in New Delhi and Agartala on December 22 following protests outside the facilities.
India responded by suspending visa services at its Chittagong visa application center in Bangladesh after violent protests erupted following the death of prominent Bangladeshi activist Sharif Osman Hadi.
The 32-year-old activist, a harsh critic of India, died on December 18 in a Singapore hospital after masked gunmen shot him in the head in Dhaka a week earlier. Hadi played a key role in the 2024 uprising that ended former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule.
Tensions escalated further after the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old Hindu man who was lynched and burned in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district over blasphemy allegations.
New Delhi and Dhaka summoned each other’s envoys earlier this week in a tit-for-tat move. The visa freeze affects tens of thousands of Bangladeshis seeking medical treatment in India.