"Believe in looking from perspective of cricket, not politics": Bangladesh Cricket Board president on demands for excluding Mustafizur Rahman from IPL

Dhaka [Bangladesh], January 3 (ANI): Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam Bulbul on Friday emphasised the cricketing links with India amid demand from a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader that the neighbouring country's cricketer Mustafizur Rahman should not be allowed to play in IPL in view of violence against minorities in Bangladesh.
He said the BCB believes in viewing this issue from a cricket perspective.
"We will monitor the entire matter until the end, because we are people of cricket. We believe in looking at this issue from the perspective of cricket, not politics," Aminul Islam Bulbul told ANI.
Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was picked by KKR for the IPL 2026 season. Rahman was picked up by the Kolkata-based franchise for Rs 9.20 crore at the IPL auction in December last year.
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey is among the political leaders who have spoken against the participation of Bangladesh players in the IPL.
"Bangladeshi players shouldn't be allowed to play on Indian soil in the IPL. Pakistani and Bangladeshi players should be prohibited....Shah Rukh Khan should immediately remove that Bangladeshi cricketer from his team... If he does not do this even after all this uproar, it will prove that, while he lives in this country and earns money here, he doesn't understand this nation's sentiments," Dubey had alleged.
The BCB president told ANI over the phone from Sylhet that IPL is not an ICC cricket event but a domestic event.
"Only one player from Bangladesh is on the Kolkata Knight Riders roster: Mustafizur Rahman. So we will see what happens until the very end; we will monitor it till the end. We always encourage the game of cricket," he said.
"India is our neighbouring country, and we have a very good cricketing relationship with them--a very good cooperative relationship in cricket," he added.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a strong statement at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 mini-auction, led by the marquee signings Cameron Green, Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman. They also added depth with Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra and returning players Tim Seifert and Rahul Tripathi. (ANI)