NEW DELHI: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam Bulbul underlined the strong cricketing ties between Bangladesh and India while responding to calls from a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader to bar Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from participating in the IPL over concerns about violence against minorities in Bangladesh.
He said the BCB prefers to approach the matter purely from a sporting standpoint, stressing that cricket should remain separate from political or diplomatic issues.
"We will monitor the entire matter until the end, because we are people of cricket. We believe in looking at this issue from the perspective of cricket, not politics," Aminul Islam Bulbul told ANI.
KKR, Mustafizur Rahman and the IPL 2026 controversy: All you need to know
Mustafizur Rahman was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders for the IPL 2026 season, with the Kolkata-based franchise securing the Bangladesh pacer for Rs 9.20 crore at the auction held in December last month.
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey is among the political figures who have voiced opposition to the participation of Bangladeshi players in the IPL.
"Bangladeshi players shouldn't be allowed to play on Indian soil in the IPL. Pakistani and Bangladeshi players should be prohibited....Shah Rukh Khan should immediately remove that Bangladeshi cricketer from his team... If he does not do this even after all this uproar, it will prove that, while he lives in this country and earns money here, he doesn't understand this nation's sentiments," Dubey had alleged.
Speaking to ANI over the phone from Sylhet, the BCB president pointed out that the IPL is not an ICC-sanctioned international tournament but a domestic competition.
"Only one player from Bangladesh is on the Kolkata Knight Riders roster: Mustafizur Rahman. So we will see what happens until the very end; we will monitor it till the end. We always encourage the game of cricket," he said.
"India is our neighbouring country, and we have a very good cricketing relationship with them--a very good cooperative relationship in cricket," he added.
