Bangladesh Drop Indian Presenter Ridhima Pathak From BPL 2025-26 Hosting Panel

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced that it has removed Indian presenter Ridhima Pathak from the hosting panel of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Ridhima, who has hosted many cricket shows and events for broadcasters Star Sports and Sony Sports in India, was co-hosting BPL 2025-26 alongside Pakistan’s Zainab Abbas in Bangladesh, but now her stint has come to an end.

The decision to drop Pathak from the hosting panel comes three days after BCCI asked Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad.

Rahman, who is the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in T20Is, was signed for Rs 9.20 crore by the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise in the IPL 2026 auction held on December 16, 2025.

But following backlash, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia asked KKR to release him from their squad on Saturday, January 3.

“The BCCI has asked Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from its squad. They can ask for a replacement if needed. And upon request, BCCI will allow a replacement player,” Saikia said while speaking to the media in Guwahati.

Asked why the BCCI has asked Kolkata Knight Riders to do so, he replied, “Because of recent developments all across.”

ICC rejects BCB’s request

The International Cricket Council (ICC) reportedly has rejected Bangladesh’s request to shift their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 matches away from India.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) issued a release on Sunday (January 4) in which the board stated that it has formally requested the ICC to shift their Group C matches of the upcoming shortest-format mega-event in India. But according to a report in ESPNCricinfo on Tuesday night (January 6), the ICC has rejected BCB’s request.

As per the available information, in a virtual call on Tuesday, the ICC told BCB that they are rejecting their request to play T20 World Cup 2026 matches outside India due to security concerns.

According to ESPNCricinfo, the ICC has told the Bangladesh Cricket Board that “Bangladesh will need to travel to India to play the T20 World Cup or risk forfeiting points.”

Bangladesh are scheduled to play all their four Group C matches of the T20 World Cup 2026 in India. Their first three group matches against West Indies (February 7), Italy (February 9) and Italy (February 14) are scheduled at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, and for their fourth and final group match against Nepal on February 17, they are supposed to travel to Mumbai.