‘Would Dhoni have been called a traitor if Chennai had taken Mustafiz?’

In the IPL auction last December, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bought Mustafiz for Rs 9.2 crore after a ‘war’ with Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings.

However, in the face of demands from India’s extremist Hindutva political and religious leaders, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) dropped Mustafiz due to security issues.

If India cannot provide security to a Bangladeshi cricketer in the IPL, how will it provide security to the Bangladesh cricketers, team officials and fans in the T20 World Cup in February? That is why the Bangladesh cricket team is adamant about not going to India to play the World Cup.

Popular Indian journalist Sandeep Dwivedi wrote in a column in the Indian Express on the Mustafiz issue, ‘Chennai Super Kings also wanted to pay up to Rs 9 crore for Mustafiz. If Chennai had taken it from the auction, would Mahendra Singh Dhoni also have been called a traitor? Everyone knows the answer to that question.’

He also wrote, ‘Shah Rukh Khan certainly did not want his movie story to turn out so brutally in real life. In the movie Chak De India, Indian hockey player Kabir Khan was isolated after missing an important penalty against Pakistan. Traitor was written on the wall of his house with coal. After all these years, that story turned out in real life too.’

Sandeep wrote, ‘These days, even though they have no idea about sports or entertainment, they are becoming experts in front of television. Without understanding the rules of the IPL auction, without knowing Shah Rukh Khan’s contribution to cricket, they are making wild and contradictory comments. Many are even getting the ball. Luckily, the walls of Mannat (Shah Rukh’s house) in Mumbai are still white. But Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman has been called a traitor by hardline religious leaders and politicians, just like Shah Rukh Khan.