‘Cricket Shouldn’t Bear Burden Of Politics’: Shashi Tharoor On Calls To Boycott Bangladeshi Player

Last Updated:January 02, 2026, 21:30 IST

Shashi Tharoor stressed that India must continue diplomatic pressure on Dhaka while keeping sport separate.

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. (Image: PTI)

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, amid a political row over Kolkata Knight Riders’ selection of Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman, came out strongly in defence of the decision, asserting that sport must remain insulated from geopolitical tensions.

“Cricket should not be made to bear the burden for attacks on minorities in Bangladesh," he said, adding, “We should try and insulate some areas from others."

Shashi Tharoor stressed that India must continue diplomatic pressure on Dhaka while keeping sport separate.

“We are reaching out to Bangladesh and urging them to do the right thing to protect and look after their minorities, and this messaging must continue," he said, continuing, “But Mustafizur Rahman is a cricketer and has nothing to do with any of these things."

Calling the backlash against Mustafizur Rahman unfair, Shashi Tharoor said the player had not been accused of any wrongdoing.

“He has not been personally accused of any hate speech or condoning or defending any attacks. Mixing these two things is simply not fair," he said.

The row began over KKR- co-owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan- picking Mustafizur Rahman for Rs 9.20 crore at the IPL auction. The decision triggered a backlash amid strained India–Bangladesh ties following the killing of a Hindu man in Mymensingh.

Shashi Tharoor cautioned against isolating neighbouring countries, arguing that such an approach would be counterproductive.

“If we become a country that isolates all of our neighbours and say nobody is playing with any of them, how does it do any good?" he asked.

“We surround Bangladesh on three sides. We cannot isolate them. We have to play with them," he asserted.

Emphasising that the decision was purely professional, Shashi Tharoor said, “It is purely a sporting decision, and we should not let politics come into this."

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