Political tensions outside the cricket field have once again cast a shadow over India-Bangladesh relations. Recently, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has ordered Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladesh star pacer Mustafizur Rahman from IPL 2026. Meanwhile, after such issues, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided not to send a team to the World Cup in India due to concerns about the safety of the cricketers. The Bangladesh Cricket Board said in a statement today that the ICC has informed about the matter.

The BCB has already sent an e-mail to the International Cricket Council (ICC) informing about this decision. The matter was discussed in detail at the BCB’s emergency board meeting on Monday (January 4). After the meeting, the board informed that in the current situation, it may be difficult to ensure the safety of the players and team management. That is why the board has been forced to take this important decision.

It is also known that they did not directly say that they would withdraw from the tournament. Rather, they requested the ICC to change the venue. That is, Bangladesh will consider participating if the World Cup is held in another safe country.

The safety of the Bangladesh team players has been stated to be the most important thing for the BCB. The board believes that it is necessary to ensure 100% safety before participating in a major tournament. However, no official decision has been made by the ICC in this regard yet.

Mustafizur Rahman was scheduled to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming IPL season. However, several religious organizations and political parties in India and Kolkata became violent at one point while protesting the recent death of garment worker Dipu Chandra Das in Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi players were advised not to play in any IPL franchise. They even threatened to prevent any Bangladeshi cricketer from playing in the Kolkata ground. In such a situation, the three-time IPL champions were forced to release Mustafizur Rahman on the orders of the BCCI.

Bangladesh is going to send an email to the BCCI seeking an explanation as to why the left-arm pacer was dropped. In this regard, a top BCB official told Cricbuzz, “We are sending an email to the BCCI to get the exact picture of why Mustafizur was dropped.”

After Mustafizur Rahman was released from Kolkata Knight Riders, questions are also being raised about the security of the Bangladesh team in the World Cup. Three of Bangladesh’s four matches in the group stage of the World Cup will be in Kolkata. For this reason, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has been forced to take an important decision.