"Expel Mustafizur Rehman": Shahi Mufti UP Chief demands removal of Bangladeshi player from KKR

Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 2 (ANI): Shahi Chief Mufti of Uttar Pradesh, Maulana Chaudhary Ifraheem Husain, has demanded that Shah Rukh Khan's co-owned franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), expel Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rehman amid the alleged atrocities committed against minorities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh.
Hussain said that the whole world has witnessed these atrocities and questioned why Shah Rukh Khan is not taking action against Mustafizur. He has written a letter demanding an apology from Shah Rukh Khan for picking Rahman for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
Speaking to ANI, Hussain said, "Look, the atrocity committed by the Bangladeshi on minorities has been witnessed by the whole world. Now, Shahrukh Khan's company KKR has bought Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rehman. In such a situation, why is Shah Rukh Khan so adamant that he is not letting Mustafizur Rehman leave the country? My demand is that Shahrukh Khan should act on this, and Mustafizur Rehman should be expelled from the country."
Various opinions have been raised on Bangladesh cricketer Mustafizur Rahman being picked by KKR for the IPL 2026 season. Rahman was picked up by the Kolkata-based franchise for a whopping Rs 9.20 crore at the IPL auction in December last year.
Many have argued that Mustafizur should not play in the IPL tournament after repeated violent incidents against religious minorities in Bangladesh.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sangeet Som called Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan a traitor and accused him of investing money in players from a country working against India.
"The way Hindus are being persecuted in Bangladesh, women and girls are being raped, their homes are being burned, and anti-India slogans are being chanted there. Despite all this, traitors like Shah Rukh Khan, I'm calling him a traitor because everything he has is given by India, given by the people of India, but where do they invest this money? They invest it in players from a country that is working against India. I want to tell people like Shah Rukh Khan that they will not succeed. At any cost, they will not be able to get Mustafizur Rahman to play here. Rahman won't be able to step outside the airport," Som told ANI. (ANI)