The rift between India and Bangladesh has now one more chapter in it, as reports suggest that the decision of excluding Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL only came from the head of the departments, as they asked KKR to release Mustafizur Rahman from the squad, whom they acquired by winning an intense bidding war with Chennai Super Kings. Following that, tensions for the upcoming T20I World Cup, which is going to start in a month has grown, in a significant development ahead of the world cup Bangladesh Cricket Board asked the ICC to shift all of their matches to Sri Lanka, as they have cited concerns about growing security and safety in India.
"Following a thorough assessment of the prevailing situation and the growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India and considering the advice from the Bangladesh Government, the Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions," the BCB statement says.
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They also added, “ The Board believes that such a step is necessary to safeguard the safety and well-being of Bangladeshi players, team officials, Board members and other stakeholders and to ensure that the team can participate in the tournament in a secure and appropriate environment. The Bangladesh Cricket Board looks forward to the ICC's understanding of the situation and an urgent response on this matter."
The decision came from the Heads
According to The Indian Express, not all BCCI and IPL governing council members were consulted on the decision to ask KKR to release Rahman. The decision to release Rahman was made at the highest levels of the board.
“We ourselves got to know about this through the media. There was no discussion. No suggestion was taken from our side," the Indian Express quoted a BCCI official.
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On 3rd January, Devajit Saikia, on behalf of BCCI, told news agency PTI, "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.”
What actually happened?
Mustafizur’s inclusion in the KKR team has sparked widespread debate, and politicians and parties targeted the team owner, Shah Rukh Khan. Though the stalwart Bangladeshi fast bowler did not have any direct role in Bangladesh's ongoing situation. A few days ago, the protesters of Bangladesh set ablaze a living Bangladeshi Hindu, following that Shiv Sena and BJP ministers and leaders started questioning Fizz’s inclusion in the IPL. The left-arm pacer was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders at the auction for rupees 9.2 crore, and he became the highest-paid Bangladeshi cricketer ever. The BCCI allowed KKR to get a replacement from the remaining players. After this directive, BCB urged ICC to change their venues to Sri Lanka and on Monday, the Bangladesh Ministry decided to halt the broadcasting of IPL for an uncertain period of time.
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Bangladesh were scheduled to play their group matches in Kolkata against the West Indies, Italy, England and one in Mumbai against Nepal.
