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All India Imam Association (AIAA) President, Maulana Sajid Rashidi, on Saturday backed Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan amid criticism of buying Bangladeshi pacer Muztafizur Rahman in his IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Rashidi said that the BCCI's directive to release Bangladesh cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) roster should have come before the auction. "... The decision to drop the Bangladeshi player should have been made before the auction, as they were aware of the situation in Bangladesh... This decision is set under the narrative of the Hindu-Muslim angle... There is no mistake of Shah Rukh Khan as he bought the player under BCCI rules and regulations...," he told ANI. Maulana Sajid Rashidi's comments come after the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) decision to instruct the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to remove Mustafizur Rahman from the squad for the 2026 edition of the league. The BCCI secretary Devaijit Saikia told ANI on Saturday that the apex cricket board has asked KKR to remove the Bangladesh pacer from their squad for the IPL 2026 season "due to the recent developments". Saikia said that the BCCI will permit the franchise to replace the player. Notably, the inclusion of the Bangladesh player has sparked a political backlash, particularly amid the recent targeting of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, and various opinions have been raised about Mustafizur being selected by KKR for the IPL 2026 season. Mustafizur was picked up by the Kolkata-based franchise for a whopping Rs 9.20 crore at the IPL auction in December last year. "Due to the recent developments which is going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh from their squad and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement," Devaijit Saikia told ANI. (ANI)
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