Three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have been instructed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman. The board’s secretary Devajit Saikia has said that it will allow KKR to pick a replacement player if they need.
“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,” Saikia told the news agency ANI. “BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement.”
Mustafizur had been bought by KKR in the IPL 2026 auction which took place on December 16. He was one of seven Bangladeshi players in the auction pool but the only one to find bidders. Mustafizur entered with a base price of Rs 2 crore but ended up being signed up by KKR for Rs 9.20 crore. Delhi Capitals opened the bidding for the 30-year-old, and Chennai Super Kings challenged, with Mustafizur having turned out for both sides in the past. KKR entered the fray at Rs 5.4 crore and then managed to keep CSK at bay.
However, KKR and their co-owner, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, have since come under intense criticism on social media and by politicians for signing the Mustafizur, linking it to reports of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh in recent weeks.
Mustafizur has played 60 IPL games and taken 65 wickets. The 2026 season of the IPL would’ve marked a decade of playing in the league for him, having made his first appearance playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016. SRH won the title that season and Mustafizur became the first overseas player to win the “Emerging Player of the Tournament” award. He has since gone on to play in every season except for two, in 2019 and 2020. He played for SRH in the 2017 season as well after he which he spent a season at Mumbai Indians. Mustafizur then didn’t feature in the 2019 and 2020 seasons before spending a year with the Rajasthan Royals in 2021. He then spent two seasons with Delhi Capitals and then played for the Chennai Super Kings in 2024. Mustafizur then returned to DC last year.
