Senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor has launched a scathing attack on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for its decision to instruct the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman. Tharoor labelled the move an "unnecessary politicisation" of sport, arguing it damages India's diplomatic standing and sporting culture.
A Decision That 'Makes No Cricketing Sense'
Speaking to The Indian Express on Sunday, Tharoor dissected the BCCI's directive, pointing out its inherent contradiction. He noted that franchises were invited to pick players from a registered pool pre-selected by the BCCI itself. "If a fellow was in the pool, why is KKR to blame for selecting somebody from that pool?" Tharoor questioned. He asserted that objecting to the selection of a player deemed eligible by the board's own process makes no logical sense from a purely cricketing perspective.
The controversy erupted after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided against sending its national team to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup, citing security concerns and government advice. This decision followed KKR's release of Mustafizur Rahman on the BCCI's instruction. Subsequently, Dhaka requested that its four group matches scheduled in India be shifted to Sri Lanka, expressing anger over the treatment of its player.
Drawing a Line: Bangladesh is Not Pakistan
Tharoor strongly objected to any equivalence being drawn between Bangladesh and Pakistan in this context. "Bangladesh is not Pakistan. Bangladesh has not been dispatching terrorists across the border. It's not a comparable situation at all," he stated. He emphasised that India's relationship and diplomatic engagements with Bangladesh are on a completely different footing, and treating them similarly is a flawed approach.
He also raised a moral objection, questioning why cricket alone must bear the brunt of social media outrage. "There are so many other ways in which we are interacting with Bangladesh at various levels. But somehow, cricket has to bear this," Tharoor said. He defended Mustafizur Rahman as an individual, noting the bowler has never condoned hate speech or made anti-India remarks, and is merely a sportsman being unfairly victimised.
Questioning the Signal Sent by the Move
The parliamentarian posed a pointed hypothetical scenario to highlight the potential prejudice in the decision. He asked if Bangladeshi Hindu cricketers like Litton Das or Soumya Sarkar—who have played in the IPL before—had been picked this year, would they also have been forced out? "If not, then what are we signaling? Are we such an intolerant country that we're against Muslim Bangladeshis and not against Hindu Bangladeshis?" Tharoor questioned, urging for deeper reflection on the message being sent.
He concluded by calling the BCCI's decision "absolutely preposterous" and poorly thought out, likely taken as a reflexive response to online outrage. "To my mind, it demeans us as a nation. It demeans our diplomacy. It demeans our bilateral relationship. It demeans our culture as a nation with a broad enough mind and a big enough heart," Tharoor asserted.
In a related development, the BCB on Sunday announced its 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, set to begin in February across India and Sri Lanka. Wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das was named captain. The squad includes five fast bowlers, with Mustafizur Rahman retaining his place, but omitted middle-order batters Jaker Ali Anik and Mahidul Islam.
Bangladesh T20 World Cup Squad: Litton Das (captain), Mohammad Saif Hasan, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Shaifuddin, Shoriful Islam.
