This dispute between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and BCB started after Mustafizur Rahman was not allowed to play in IPL 2026 (Indian Premier League 2026) and at present this dispute does not seem to be resolved.
This decision was taken amid massive protests in India against the targeted killings of Hindus in the neighboring country. Bangladesh has also responded by requesting ICC to shift the venues of its matches in the T20 World Cup 2026 out of India. Sharing his views on the controversy, Syed Ashraful Haq strongly criticized ICC Chairman Jay Shah as well as other people holding key positions in cricket administration in both India and Bangladesh.
Speaking to Times of India, Haq said, “India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the entire cricket ecosystem everywhere has been hijacked by politicians. Just think. If people like Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya, Mr. I.S. Bindra, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia, Mr. N.K.P. Salve or even Mr. N. Srinivasan were handling the responsibility, would this have ever happened? This would never have happened because they were intelligent people. They understood the game. And they understood the consequences.”
He further said, “Now it has been completely hijacked. There are people who have never held a bat. In your case, there is Jay Shah, who has never even held a cricket bat in a competitive match. Our sports advisor makes statements that Bangladesh should not go to India. Just think. This is a World Cup event. This is not the IPL. IPL is a domestic tournament. This is an international World Cup event. You cannot make such hasty statements.”
Haq also criticized the board members for putting the World Cup on hold and playing with religious sentiments. Haq said, “If Liton Das or Soumya Sarkar had been in place of Mustafizur, would they have done the same? They would not have done so. This is all cheap religious sentiment which is being used by the politicians. This happens when foolish politicians come to power. There are elections in West Bengal and Assam, so you are playing these political cards to get votes and you are putting an international event like the World Cup in trouble.”