The Board of Control for Cricket in India, known as BCCI, has stopped false stories about Bangladesh cricket players not joining the Indian Premier League, or IPL, in 2026.
On Thursday, people close to BCCI said clearly that no message came from the government to block Bangladeshi cricketers from the league. This news comes after talks about fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman, whom the Kolkata Knight Riders team bought for a big amount of 9.20 crore rupees at last month's IPL mini-auction.
Mustafizur's high price made big news, but it also caused problems because of recent fights against religious groups in Bangladesh. Some fans wondered why KKR chose a player from there during this trouble. A BCCI worker talked to the news agency IANS and said, "We did not get any word from the government to keep out Bangladesh players from IPL. Right now, it is not our choice, so we cannot say more."
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This 29-year-old left-arm fast bowler has a good record in IPL with 65 wickets in 60 games and an economy rate of 8.13. He started playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016. Later, he joined Mumbai Indians in 2018, Rajasthan Royals in 2021, Delhi Capitals in 2022-23 and once as a replacement last season, and Chennai Super Kings in 2024. CSK released him after they did not reach the playoffs.
A religious leader named Devkinandan Thakur spoke against KKR and its co-owner, the Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. He said picking Mustafizur hurts Hindus and people who follow Sanatan Dharma, because of news about attacks on them in Bangladesh. This led to different opinions from political leaders, who mostly said sports like cricket should stay away from political or border fights.
BCCI did not go deeper into the fight and just repeated that no official message came from the government. With IPL 2026 getting exciting through auction news and team plans, fans are watching if Mustafizur will do well again for KKR. His fast bowling skills could help a lot in the quick T20 games.