IND vs PAK T20 World Cup Boycott: Shashi Tharoor says Mustafizur should have played IPL with KKR

Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha and a major cricket enthusiast, Shashi Tharoor, has slammed the politics being done over the T20 World Cup 2026. He said that the issue would not have ballooned up at all if Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh—sold to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for ₹9.2 Crore—had been allowed to remain a part of the franchise. However, following the directive of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), KKR was forced to release the Bangladeshi pacer.

What did Shashi Tharoor say on Mustafizur Rahman’s removal from the IPL?

Tharoor, an ardent follower of the game, said, “I don’t think that Mustafizur should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was most unfortunate.”

The politician further slammed the “intrusion of politics” in the game, saying that what Bangladesh did was an overreaction and what Pakistan is doing—showing solidarity with that overreaction—is again not right.

Wake-up call for all concerned authorities: Tharoor

Since the World Cup is only a few days away, Tharoor was adamant that all stakeholders must come together to end this problem. “This whole thing is spiralling out of control. I honestly think this is now a wake-up call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis; the ICC could be the platform for it – just say, let’s call off this nonsense. You can’t go on like this forever,” he said.

The 69-year-old Congressman said that sports should not be politicized in such a manner. It should rather be used to bring people together, he advocated further.

“It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides, frankly. I think we need to really come to an understanding that sports, especially a sport like Cricket which means so much to all the people, should be a means of bringing us together at least on the playing field, rather than allowing this to go on like this.”

Table: Mustafizur Rahman IPL 2026 & T20 WC Timeline

With the India-Pakistan encounter on February 15 becoming a problem, all eyes are now on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which is yet to issue a clarification on its government’s boycott order.