Web Desk

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;The International Cricket Council (ICC), chaired by Jay Shah, has reportedly rejected a request from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to shift Bangladesh&rsquo;s matches out of India for the upcoming ICC Men&rsquo;s T20 World Cup. Shah, who assumed charge as ICC chair in August 2024, previously served as secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and is the son of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the decision was conveyed to the BCB during a virtual meeting on Tuesday, where the ICC informed the Bangladesh board that it would not consider relocating the fixtures.&nbsp; The governing body is also understood to have warned that Bangladesh would have to travel to India to play the tournament or risk forfeiting points. However, the BCB has denied receiving any such ultimatum, stating that the ICC has relayed no formal communication to that effect. Neither the ICC nor the BCCI has issued an official statement on the outcome of Tuesday&rsquo;s meeting, which was convened after the BCB wrote to the ICC on Sunday requesting it to &ldquo;consider&rdquo; moving Bangladesh&rsquo;s matches outside India. Last week, the BCB said&nbsp;it had &quot;formally requested&quot; the ICC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-say-will-not-play-t20-world-cup-matches-if-in-india" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">shift their games to Sri Lanka</a>.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;The Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions,&quot; a BCB statement read. The development comes less than a month before the 20-team T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held across India and Sri Lanka from Feb. 7 to March 8.&nbsp; Bangladesh, placed in Group C, are set to play their first three matches in Kolkata, against the West Indies on Feb. 7, Italy on Feb. 9, and England on Feb. 14, before facing Nepal in Mumbai on Feb. 17. The BCB&rsquo;s concerns reportedly stem from a recent decision by the BCCI to instruct IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/india-drops-bangladeshi-star-from-ipl-amid-political-pressure" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman,</a>&nbsp;who was bought at the December auction for INR 9.2 crore (about $1.02 million).&nbsp;The decision was confirmed to the media by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, though no reason was provided for the release. It remains unclear who was involved in the decision, as the IPL Governing Council is understood not to have convened to discuss the matter. Mustafizur was the only Bangladesh player selected at the 2026 IPL auction.

Cricket

Warns that Bangladesh would have to travel to India to play the tournament or risk forfeiting points.

Jay Shah-led ICC refuses to shift Bangladesh matches out of India: Report

ISLAMABAD: India&rsquo;s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has once again blurred the line between politics and sport by branding Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan &ldquo;anti-national&rdquo; over his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise&rsquo;s decision to sign a Bangladeshi cricketer.&nbsp;The controversy erupted after the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi, where Khan&rsquo;s franchise secured Bangladeshi left-arm fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman for $1.02 million.&nbsp;BJP leaders and affiliates responded with public accusations and threats, drawing widespread criticism for injecting hyper-nationalist politics into a professional sporting league.&nbsp;Former BJP MLA Sangeet Som accused Khan of betraying India, declaring, &ldquo;If you earn money, it comes from this country. But you have betrayed the nation&hellip; there should not be any place for such traitors.&rdquo;&nbsp;Religious figure Jagadguru Rambhadracharya also joined the campaign, calling Shah Rukh Khan &ldquo;anti-national&rdquo; and questioning his character, alleging that his views had consistently been against the country.&nbsp;The rhetoric escalated further when BJP-affiliated figures issued direct threats. Abhishek Thakur, speaking in a video circulated on social media, said, &ldquo;We will beat Mustafizur Rahman and Shah Rukh Khan if they allow the former to play in IPL.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2007093215787471269&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard&sessionId=bddc91dad91e30354161280cbf0fd80065d61fab&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2007093215787471269"></iframe></div></div>&nbsp;The incident exposed an increasingly hostile environment for foreign players, particularly from neighboring countries, amid India&rsquo;s domestic political discourse.&nbsp;Political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla echoed the hardline position, stating, &ldquo;I completely agree that no player from Bangladesh should play in the IPL.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=e30%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2006740198017871968&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard&sessionId=bddc91dad91e30354161280cbf0fd80065d61fab&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2006740198017871968"></iframe></div></div>&nbsp;In contrast, opposition leaders criticized the BJP&rsquo;s approach, warning that politicizing cricket undermines both sport and regional stability. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said cricket should not be used as a proxy for political disputes.&nbsp;&ldquo;Cricket should not be made to bear the burden for attacks on minorities in Bangladesh,&rdquo; Tharoor said.&nbsp;Congress leader Priyank Kharge also criticized the ruling party&rsquo;s campaign, cautioning that dragging sport into political hostility risks damaging India&rsquo;s relations with neighboring countries.&nbsp;The episode has revived broader criticism of India&rsquo;s repeated politicization of cricket, with observers noting that sporting bodies and tournaments have frequently been affected by political considerations, particularly in matters involving regional rivals and neighboring states.

India’s BJP sparks controversy by branding Shah Rukh Khan anti-national for signing Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman, drawing criticism over politicizing cricket and issuing threats.

Articles tagged with "Mustafizur Rahman"

Jay Shah-led ICC refuses to shift Bangladesh matches out of India: Report

India’s BJP politicizes IPL, targets Shah Rukh Khan over Bangladeshi player