After the BCCI directed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman amid heightened tensions over recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, Dhaka announced it would not play the upcoming T20 match against India. Reacting to the developments, Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs chairperson Shashi Tharoor said India should not have politicised sports, pointing to the “delicate diplomatic and political relationship” between the two countries. In an interview with The Indian Express, Tharoor stressed that sporting engagements should be kept separate from political disputes.
‘Unnecessary politicisation of sporting decision’
“I think it’s an absolutely appalling decision by the BCCI. It is an unnecessary politicisation of a sporting decision. And there are various aspects I object to,” Tharoor said before elaborating on the issues he has with India’s decision.
He added that the decision was questionable even from a purely cricketing standpoint.
“One is the fact that purely as a cricketing decision, it makes no sense because teams were invited to choose from a registered pool of players selected by the BCCI,” he further said. He pointed out that teams were invited to choose from a registered list of players vetted by the board, asking why KKR should be faulted for picking someone who had already been deemed eligible.
While acknowledging that India had registered its concerns with Bangladesh through official channels, Tharoor said adopting an outright boycott of Bangladeshi players sends the wrong signal. “A simple black-and-white ‘we’re going to boycott every Bangladeshi player’ sends exactly the wrong message.”
“…Now what’s going to happen? Are they going to be banned from playing? Is the entire World Cup schedule going to be put up for a toss? Will Pakistan and Bangladesh ask that India be denied the hosting rights? They (BCCI) have not thought this through at all. It’s been incredibly foolish,” he further asked.
‘Demeans us as a nation’
The 69-year-old MP defended Rahman, noting that he has never condoned hate speech. “He has never said anything against India or against the Hindu minority in Bangladesh; he is just a sportsman. Who are we victimising here?”
He also asked whether the outrage would extend to all Bangladeshi players, questioning if a Hindu cricketer such as Litton Das or Soumya Sarkar would have faced the same treatment had they been selected this season.
“And if not, then what are we signalling? Are we such an intolerant country that we’re against Muslim Bangladeshis and not against Hindu Bangladeshis?”
Tharoor said the decision appeared to be a knee-jerk response driven by social media pressure rather than careful deliberation. “I find this absolutely preposterous. To my mind, it demeans us as a nation. It demeans our diplomacy. It demeans our bilateral relationship. It demeans our culture as a nation with a broad enough mind and a big enough heart to be able to look at these things in a broader spirit.”