Mumbai: The controversy surrounding Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) purchase of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman at the IPL auction is likely to die down, according to a report. The report states that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed KKR to release Mustafizur from their squad.
KKR had bought Mustafizur at the auction held in Abu Dhabi last month after intense bidding, paying ₹9.20 crore against his base price of ₹2.00 crore. However, with reports of renewed incidents of atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh, strong protests erupted across India against Mustafizur.
Bangladeshi players were barred from the IPL auction last year, but since no official announcement of such a ban was made this time, KKR seized the opportunity to sign Mustafizur. This decision triggered a controversy, with KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan even being labelled “anti-national” by critics.That said, even if KKR had not been asked to release him, Mustafizur himself was unlikely to travel to India to play IPL matches due to security concerns.
#WATCH | Guwahati | BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia says, "Due to the recent developments that are going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad and BCCI has also said that if they ask… pic.twitter.com/53oxuRcmZp
— ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2026
Notably, the BCCI has also allowed KKR to include another player in their squad as a replacement for Mustafizur. According to a report by news agency ANI, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia has clearly informed KKR that Mustafizur Rahman must be released from the team.
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