Kolkata Knight Riders release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman after advice from Indian cricket board amid diplomatic tensions.
BANGLADESH fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was released by Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India advised the franchise to release the player “considering recent developments”.
Mustafizur was bought by Kolkata for more than $1 million at the player auction in December.
ALSO READ: Indian cricket board tells IPL team to release Bangladesh star bowler
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed the board advised the team to release the 30-year-old.
Kolkata Knight Riders said the “release has been carried out following due process and consultations”.
The franchise said the BCCI would allow it to sign a replacement player under IPL regulations.
The 19th edition of the lucrative Twenty20 league is scheduled to begin on March 26.
Saikia did not publicly elaborate on the reasons for the directive.
The Bangladesh international’s presence had drawn criticism from some right-wing Hindu groups in India.
This followed the death of a Hindu man in Bangladesh in December.
India’s foreign ministry last month condemned what it called “unremitting hostility against minorities” in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus has accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence. – AFP
