IPL side KKR release Bangladesh star on BCCI 'advice'

NEW DELHI, Jan 03 (Agencies): Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was Saturday released by Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders after the cricket board "advised" it to do so, following tensions between the neighbouring nations.
Mustafizur, who has played in the IPL for other teams in previous editions, was snapped up at auction in December by Kolkata for more than $1 million.
Devajit Saikia, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said that "considering recent developments" Kolkata were "advised to release" the 30-year-old.
Kolkata, majority-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, subsequently said that his "release has been carried out following due process and consultations".

"BCCI will allow Kolkata Knight Riders a replacement player in line with IPL replacement regulations," the team said in a statement on X. The 19th edition of the IPL begins on March 26. India's foreign ministry last month condemned what it called "unremitting hostility against minorities" in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, has accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence.
Last month, a Hindu man was accused of blasphemy and beaten to death by a mob in Muslim-majority Bangladesh in an episode that resulted in protests by Hindu nationalist groups in India.
India has not agreed to send her back despite several requests, while violent protests broke out over the murder of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent student leader, in Bangladesh. "The release has been carried out following due process and consultations, upon the instruction of the Board of Control of Cricket in India," said a KKR statement.
Mustafizur has previously played for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals in the IPL, taking 60 wickets in 65 matches.
Meanwhile, the BCCI's sudden directive to release Mustafizur Rahman has left Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a peculiar situation ahead of the IPL 2026 season.
Under standard IPL auction rules, a franchise's purse is typically "locked" once a player is purchased. However, the situation with Mustafizur is unique.
The release is being mandated by the BCCI due to external diplomatic and security "developments," rather than a player-led withdrawal or injury.
According to the league's operational guidelines, when the BCCI officially intervenes to withdraw a player from a squad for non-cricketing reasons, the franchise is generally entitled to a full restoration of that player's auction price to their available purse. KKR, hence, should receive a credit of Rs 91.9 million (9.2 crore) back into their spending pool. The situation involving Mustafizur is a 'force majeure', which is a contractual clause that excuses individuals/parties from fulfilling their contracts in case of an extraordinary event that is beyond their control.