KKR Respond After BCCI Directs Termination Of Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL Contract

Three-time Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders have said that the BCCI instructed them to release Mustafizur Rahman ahead of IPL 2026, adding that the release has been carried out after

due process and consultation with the board.

On Saturday, January 3, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told the media in Guwahati that KKR had been asked to release Rahman in light of recent developments in Bangladesh, where several incidents involving the killing of Hindus have been reported.

Two hours after the BCCI’s directive, KKR issued a statement confirming that the team would be permitted to sign a replacement cricketer, in accordance with IPL regulations.

“Kolkata Knight Riders confirms that BCCI/IPL, as the regulator of IPL, has instructed it to release Mustafizur Rahman from the squad ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season,” Kolkata said in an official statement.

“The release has been carried out following due process and consultations, upon the instruction of the Board of Control of Cricket in India. BCCI will allow Kolkata Knight Riders a replacement player in line with IPL regulations and further details will be communicated in due course,” the statement added.

It is worth noting that Kolkata were locked in a bidding war with the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals at the IPL auction, before Venky Mysore and Abhishek Nayar bagged Rahman’s services after multiple rounds of bidding.

Over the past few days, KKR and co-owner Shah Rukh Khan have been at the centre of a controversy, facing criticism from multiple politicians and social media users. Many objected to the team signing a Bangladeshi player, citing prevailing national sentiments.

Relations between India and Bangladesh have remained strained after the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu man, in Mymensingh in December.

Earlier, BJP leader Sangeet Som had labelled Shah Rukh Khan a ‘gaddar‘ (traitor) for signing a Bangladeshi cricketer, with growing calls for the BCCI to intervene and take action.