Following his initial interview labeling the move 'unfortunate and unwise,' Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has condemned the BCCI's exclusion of Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL in a strongly worded opinion piece, calling it a diplomatic blunder that politicizes sports amid India-Bangladesh strains.
As chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, Tharoor argues the ban on Rahman—recruited by Kolkata Knight Riders—is an overreaction conflating Bangladesh's internal minority violence with Pakistan's hostility. He describes it as a 'self-inflicted wound' undermining the IPL's merit-based ethos.
Despite diplomatic efforts like External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's recent Dhaka visit to meet BNP leader Tarique Rahman on stability and minority protection, Tharoor warns boycotting players plays into extremists' hands.
He highlights potential religious discrimination in targeting Muslim cricketers like Rahman while possibly sparing others such as Litton Das or Soumya Sarkar, emphasizing Bangladesh's lack of state-sponsored terrorism and strong cultural-economic ties with India. Punishing a neutral athlete based on social media outrage damages India's image.
Tharoor references Bangladesh's request to relocate its T20 World Cup 2026 matches from India to Sri Lanka, urging the BCCI to keep cricket apolitical: 'Let us engage with Bangladesh with firmness for our interests, but not sacrifice the spirit of the game.'