Shashi Tharoor slams BCCI for bowing to pressure; says Mustafizur Rahman controversy is “unnecessary politicization”

Ahead of the IPL 2026 season, Congressman Shashi Tharoor has questioned the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the whole Mustafizur Rahman scandal. In light of India's increased geopolitical tensions with Bangladesh, it is noteworthy that the Indian board directed the KKR team to remove the Bangladeshi fast bowler from their IPL 2026 roster. 

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has declined to send the Bangladeshi cricket squad to India for the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup next month after Rahman was dropped from the IPL 2026.

“Makes no sense”: Shashi Tharoor on BCCI decision to ask KKR to release Mustafizur Rahman

The BCCI told the KKR team to remove fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 plans amid growing attacks on Hindu religious minority and anti-Indian sentiments in Bangladesh. Congressman Shashi Tharoor called the BCCI's decision "appalling" and said it was just a politicization of the sport.

“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,” Tharoor told Indian Express. 

In addition, Shashi Tharoor slammed the BCCI for initially including a Bangladeshi player in the IPL 2026 auction pool while defending KKR for selecting Mustafizur Rahman.

“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.

In response to growing anti-Indian sentiment in Bangladesh and the BCCI's dispute with Mustafizur Rahman and KKR, the BCB has now demanded that their 2026 T20 World Cup fixtures be moved from India to Sri Lanka.

Reports have stated that the after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) publicly requested that its matches be shifted outside of India, the ICC is creating a new schedule for the 2026 T20 World Cup. With just one month until the competition starts on February 7, the unexpected development has put the event in jeopardy.

Bangladesh will play all of its Group C games in India according to the original schedule. They will play their first game in Kolkata on February 7 against the West Indies. They will then play Italy on February 9 and England on February 14 at the same location. 

On February 17, they will play Nepal at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium to wrap up their group-stage campaign.

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