Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are going to miss out on Mustafizur Rahman in the next IPL season 2026. This vacant spot has come up after the fierce protest and the rise of political tension between India and Bangladesh.
The BCCI demands KKR to part ways with Mustafizur Rahman for the IPL 2026
Secretary of BCCI Devajit Saikia notified the press that KKR is not supposed to recruit Mustafizur Rahman for their squad in IPL 2026. KKR purchased him at the price of 9.20 INR during the IPL 2026 auction.
“In light of the various things happening all over, BCCI has directed the franchise KKR to let go of one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman from Bangladesh, and Moreover, BCCI has also said that if they ask for a replacement, then BCCI would give the green light for that replacement,” Saikia told ANI.
Some political figures belonging to the BJP and Shiv Sena exchanged insults directed to Shah Rukh Khan and KKR for disregarding public feelings in the country. The relations between India and Bangladesh cities suffer more and more as a consequence of the recent killing of the Hindu man Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh last month.
In Bangladesh, violent acts against Hindus took place recently and this is why the calls to expel Rahman got louder. Not long before this, the BJP leader Sangeet Som had gone so far as to label the superstar Shah Rukh Khan a “gaddar (traitor)” for simply signing a player from Bangladesh.
Nevertheless, the BCCI secretary remained silent on the future tour of Bangladesh, which is supposed to see India playing three ODIs and three T20Is in September 2026. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) released the tour plan on Friday declaring that the Indian team would land in Dhaka on August 28. The series was initially slated for August last year but had to be postponed due to the unrest in Bangladesh.
Rahman’s IPL career
The left-arm pacer, who was picked by KKR earlier, was also granted a no-objection certificate by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to not participate in the home series against New Zealand and be present for the whole tournament.
It should be noted that Rahman was a part of Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025 season after being recruited as a replacement player. He was involved in three games and claimed four scalps.
Over the years, he has participated in 60 matches in the tournament, taking 65 wickets. Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, and Chennai Super Kings are among the franchises he has previously played for.