Key points
- Decision follows India–Bangladesh diplomatic tensions
- Right-wing groups criticised Bangladeshi player
- KKR allowed to seek replacement bowler
NEW DELHI, India: India’s cricket board has “advised” Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders to release star Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, after tensions between the neighbouring nations.
Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Devajit Saikia, said Saturday that “considering recent developments,” the IPL team has “been advised to release” Rahman.
“They can ask for a replacement if needed, and upon request, BCCI will allow a replacement player,” Saikia told the Press Trust of India news agency.
Kolkata, majority-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, did not immediately respond to the BCCI directive.
Right-wing Hindu groups
Saikia did not give further reason for the move, but the presence of the 30-year-old Bangladeshi provoked criticism by some right-wing Hindu groups after the death of a Hindu man in Bangladesh in December.
India’s foreign ministry last month condemned what it called “unremitting hostility against minorities” in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, has accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence.
Rahman, who has played in the IPL for other teams in previous editions, was snapped up at auction in December by KKR for more than $1 million.
The 19th edition of the IPL begins on March 26.
