Mustafizur’s removal from the IPL is a yorker to Bangladesh-India relations and regional stability. So much for cricket diplomacy.
Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman was released by his franchise, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), on January 3, following instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the regulator of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In response, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced that the Bangladesh team will not travel to India to participate in the T20 World Cup, which is only a month away. It wrote to the International Cricket Council (ICC), seeking a shift of Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches from India to another country.
The escalation came against the backdrop of already strained relations between Dhaka and New Delhi. Ties deteriorated sharply after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power through a mass uprising on August 5, 2024.
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