The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) arranged an emergency meeting for Saturday night (January 3), to discuss Mustafizur Rahman’s unprecedented exit from the IPL 2026.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced earlier in the day that it had instructed IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Rahman and seek a replacement. KKR, which signed Rahman for Rs. 9.20 crore in the auction last year, agreed and made a statement confirming the same.
“It is not possible to arrange a board meeting so quickly,” BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul told reporters, as quoted by local media. “So, we have arranged to call an emergency meeting at 9:30 pm to know about the matter in detail. Then, we will get a clear overview and may issue
a media release. [Due to] getting extremely busy with BPL, we don’t have the full information. That’s why we have called the emergency meeting,” Bulbul added.
The political relationship between Bangladesh and India has been strained since the ouster of the India-favoring Sheikh Hasina government last year. Since before the auction, visuals of violence against the Hindu minority in Bangladesh have flooded social media in India, where Hindus are in the majority.
It has led to severe anti-Bangladesh sentiment in the country, largely led by some powerful religious groups. They threatened KKR and its co-owner Shah Rukh Khan with violence and boycotts if they didn’t release Rahman, playing whom they felt was insensitive to the situation.
The BCCI caved in on Saturday, with secretary Devajit Saikia, saying the reason for its direction to KKR was ‘the recent developments’, without explaining further.
The Mustafizur situation is not the only thing BCB needs to discuss, either. Reports here suggest that the BCCI has put on hold next year’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh, which the BCB had only announced on Friday. The Indian board is said to be waiting for approval from the central government.
Moreover, the Bangladesh team has to travel to India in February next year for the 2026 T20 World Cup and former cricketers at home are already questioning whether it would be safe or ethical for them to do so.
