BCCI's decision "demeans us as a nation": Shashi Tharoor on Mustafizur Rahman row
Congress politician Shashi Tharoor has strongly criticized the BCCI’s decision to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad for IPL 2026, calling it an “absolutely appalling” and “unnecessary politicisation” of sport that “demeans us as a nation.” Tharoor questioned the logic behind the move and raised concerns about whether Hindu Bangladeshi players would face similar treatment.
“Absolutely appalling” and “unnecessary politicisation”
Speaking to the Indian Express, Tharoor expressed his disappointment at the BCCI’s directive, which came following reports of attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh and deteriorating India-Bangladesh relations.
“I think it’s an absolutely appalling decision by the BCCI. It is an unnecessary politicisation of a sporting matter. And there are various aspects I object to,” Tharoor said.
“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,” he added.
Bangladesh is not Pakistan
Tharoor also took issue with comparisons being drawn between Bangladesh and Pakistan, arguing that the two situations are fundamentally different.
“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 said.
The BCCI is already at loggerheads with the Pakistan Cricket Board, and due to the nature of political relations between India and Pakistan, cricket teams from the two countries do not engage in bilateral events. Pakistani cricketers are also not allowed to participate in the IPL. Tharoor expressed disappointment at seeing such a precedent being set for Bangladeshi cricketers.
Would Hindu Bangladeshi players face the same treatment?
Tharoor raised several objections to the BCCI’s directive, including questions about whether Bangladesh’s Hindu players like Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar would also have been released from the IPL had they been sold in the auction.
"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, he has never said anything against India or against the Hindu minority in Bangladesh—he is just a sportsman. Who are we victimising 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?
“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.
T20 World Cup schedule reportedly being redrawn
Mustafizur’s release from the IPL has created a ripple effect in the cricketing world, with the International Cricket Council (ICC) now reportedly forced to redraw the T20 World Cup schedule after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided against sending its national team to India for the tournament, citing security concerns.