Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said cricket should not be “mindlessly politicised” in response to attacks on minorities in Bangladesh after the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders’s (KKR) decided to release Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from its squad following a BCCI directive.
Questioning the move, Tharoor asked what the response would have been if the player concerned were Bangladeshi cricketers Litton Das or Soumya Sarkar, both Hindus. “Who are we punishing here — a nation, an individual, his religion? Where will this mindless politicising of sport lead us?” he wrote on X.
Rahman had been signed by KKR for Rs 9.20 crore at the IPL 2026 mini-auction in December 2025, a move that initially drew attention for cricketing reasons. However, following reports of rising attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, a political controversy broke out, with several BJP leaders demanding the removal of Rahman from the KKR squad.
Speaking to reporters, Tharoor said cricket should not be made to “carry the burden” of violence against minorities in Bangladesh. He stressed that while India must continue to press Dhaka to protect its minorities, Rahman “had nothing to do with these events”.