Congress MP Sashi Tharoor, who is well known for his love for cricket, is totally disgraced by the whole controversial episode ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 related to Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and the ICC.
In strong words, Tharoor expressed that politicised sports are not healthy for the game, especially for cricket, as there are countless numbers of people who only want to enjoy the on-field competition. The Congress MP not only criticised Bangladesh and Pakistan but also believes that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made the wrong call by barring Mustafizur Rahman from the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026).
Tharoor blamed the BCCI ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026
Behind the current controversial state, the snub of the Bangladesh pacer from the IPL 2026 has been playing a major role. The seamer was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from the IPL 2026 mini auction for a hefty paycheck. As soon as the Kolkata-based franchise roped in the Bangladeshi pacer into their team, some groups started to pressurise the BCCI to take a call on the matter, as there was a fresh rising tension between India and Bangladesh.
Because of the geopolitical tension, the Indian cricket governing body directed KKR to release Rahman from the team. KKR did that according to the BCCI’s order. Tharoor stated that the BCCI made a wrong move on Mustafizur Rahman.
“It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicized in this way on both sides, frankly. I don’t think that Mustafizur (Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman) should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was most unfortunate,” Tharoor opined while speaking to reporters.
Now, Pakistan joined the row ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026
After the exit of Rahman from the IPL 2026, the Bangladesh cricket board claimed that their players could face major issues related to safety and security as they were scheduled to play in Kolkata and Mumbai. Bangladesh demanded to shift their matches from India to Sri Lanka. Though the ICC refused their plea and named Scotland in place of Bangladesh.
The ejection of Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup 2026 dragged the row to a new phase as Pakistan also threatened a boycott. On Sunday, the Government of Pakistan informed that their national team will not play against India on February 15 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Tharoor said that politics should not be involved in cricket. ICC and the cricket matches can be the perfect stage to put everyone together.
Shashi Tharoor asks for a ‘call off’
“Intrusion of politics—I think the Bangladeshi reaction was an overreaction, but it is also a reflection of the same, and Pakistan is trying to show its solidarity with Bangladesh. This whole thing is spiraling out of control. I think we really need to 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,” Shashi Tharoor said further.
“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 concluded by saying this.
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