BCCI Should Ban Mustafizur Rahman From Playing IPL For KKR in India Amid Tension With Bangladesh. Here's Why

IPL 2026: Once Kolkata Knight Riders roped in Bangladesh's premier pacer Mustafizur Rahman for IPL 2026 at a whopping Rs 9.2 Cr, it sparked a huge outrage. The outrage among fans happened because over the past few months, India's relation with neighbours Bangladesh has worsened. It started since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. Hindus living in Bangladesh have faced violence and the Indian Embassy has also been attacked.

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Here is why allowing Mustafizur to participate in the IPL set the wrong precedence. 

Don't Allow Fizz. Here's Why

Bangladesh government has stopped issuing visas to Indians, then why should Indians extend the olive branch in the garb of sports and cricket? Did KKR actually need to spend a whopping Rs 9.2 Cr on Mustafizur, who is extremely injury-prone? When you have pacers in Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik and an overseas fast-bowler in Matheesha Pathirana - was splurging such a whopping amount for Mustafizur justified? 

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BCCI's Double Standard Exposed? 

The Board of Control of Cricket in India has banned Pakistan players from featuring in the IPL due to existing diplomatic relations between the two nations. Now if Pakistan is banned, then why spare Bangladeshis when the reason is similar? The BCCI find themselves in choppy waters over this. With fans and political leaders raising their voice against this particular move, it would be interesting to see what happens in the next few days. 

For the unversed, earlier in the year, the BCCI called off Bangladesh's tour of India due to similar reasons - then the question is - what has changed over the past few months?