Bangladesh, Dec 03 : Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam Bulbul on Friday stressed the importance of viewing cricketing matters separately from politics, amid calls by a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader to bar Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
Rahman was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for Rs 9.20 crore during the IPL auction in December 2025. The political demand emerged following reports of violence against minorities in Bangladesh, with Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey urging the franchise to remove the player.
“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,” Bulbul told ANI from Sylhet.
He emphasised that IPL is a domestic league, not an ICC event, and highlighted the strong cricketing ties between Bangladesh and India. “India is our neighbouring country, and we have a very good cricketing relationship with them–a very good cooperative relationship in cricket,” he added.
Bulbul reiterated, “We are people of cricket. We believe in looking at this issue from the perspective of cricket, not politics. We will monitor the entire matter until the end.”
KKR made headlines during the IPL 2026 mini-auction by strengthening their squad with marquee signings including Cameron Green, Matheesha Pathirana, Mustafizur Rahman, as well as Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, and Rahul Tripathi.