Bangladesh will not play their T20 World Cup matches in India after Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League (IPL) team amid growing tensions between the countries, Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Nazrul said on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday announced that they have released the Bangladeshi bowler after the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) asked them to do so.
Bangladesh are scheduled to play three T20 World Cup matches in Kolkata next month, with the February 7-March 8 tournament being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
“Bangladesh will not go to India to play the World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has taken this decision today,” Nazrul, advisor to the sports ministry, said in a statement after an emergency meeting of the BCB.
“We welcome this decision taken in the backdrop of the extreme communal politics of the Indian cricket board.”
Nazrul had previously said“We will under no circumstances accept any insult to Bangladeshi cricket, cricketers and Bangladesh.”
“The era of slavery is over,” he declared.
Nazrul said he had directed the BCB to write to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“The board should inform that where a Bangladeshi cricketer cannot play in India despite his contract, the entire Bangladesh cricket team cannot feel safe participating in the World Cup,” he wrote.
“I have also requested the board to request that Bangladesh’s World Cup matches be played in Sri Lanka.”
Nazrul said he would also demand that the IPL be blocked for Bangladeshi broadcasters.
“I have asked the information and broadcast advisor to stop the broadcast of the IPL tournament in Bangladesh,” he said.
Kolkata Knight Riders, a company majority owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, later said that “the release of Mustafizur was done through due process and consultations”.
BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul told reporters on Saturday evening: “The dignity and safety of our cricketers are our top priorities, and we will take a decision at the appropriate time keeping this in mind.”
Mustafizur, who has previously played in the IPL for other teams, was bought at auction in December by Kolkata for over $1 million.
But BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that “in view of recent developments”, Kolkata had been “advised to release” the 30-year-old.
These developments come amid deteriorated political relations between India and Bangladesh after a mass uprising in Dhaka in 2024. overturned Sheikh Hasina, then Prime Minister, a close ally of New Delhi.
India’s foreign ministry last month condemned what it called “unrelenting hostility against minorities” in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence.
Last year, the ICC allowed India to play Champions Trophy matches in the United Arab Emirates due to strained relations with hosts Pakistan.
Pakistan will also play all of its T20 World Cup matches in Sri Lanka, under a deal that allows India and Pakistan to play at neutral venues in multi-nation tournaments.
Sunday, cricket news site Cricbuzz reported that the BCB would seek a formal explanation from the BCCI regarding the release of Mustafizur.
The ICC and the BCB did not immediately respond Reuters requests for comments.
