The Bangladesh Cricket Team, Geopolitical Tensions & Why this is Relevant to British Sports Governance

The Context

On the 16 December 2025, Indian Cricket Franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), picked up Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman in the IPL auction for £750,000. KKR beat the Delhi and Chennai franchises to the signature of Mustafizur, who has 65 wickets in the competition and is the second most capped Bangladeshi in the competition.

2 days later, Dipu Chandra Das was beaten to death in Bangladesh, sparking a further deterioration of political ties between the two countries. This then resulted in some Hindu spiritual leaders and prominent members of the ruling party, the BJP, to attack KKR owner and Bollywood megastar, Shah Rukh Khan, with some going as far as calling him a “traitor”.  Political ties had been tense since ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina fled to India and was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.

Amid mounting pressure, on 3 January 2026 The BCCI, the National Governing Body for cricket in India, “instructed” KKR to release Mustafizur owing to “recent developments”. No further explanation was given by the BCCI. However, many took this as a reference to the tensions, as was the case when the Indian men’s and women’s tours to Bangladesh were postponed.

The next day and with the T20 Men’s World Cup beginning in India & Sri Lanka on 7 February, The Bangladesh Cricket Board requested of the ICC (cricket’s global governing body) that their matches be moved from India to Sri Lanka owing to security concerns. After The ICC considered there to be no threat to the Bangladeshi contingent, they rejected the request based on the feasibility of venue changes so close to the tournament and the risk of setting a precedent for future tournaments. India has long had the largest influence on the global game owing to its economic and political dominance of the sport including former BCCI Secretary, Jay Shah, sitting as Chair of the ICC. India and Pakistan also refuse to play in one another’s countries.

What does this mean for UK Governing Bodies in the short term?

In the build up to this T20 World Cup and previous tournaments, British players of Pakistani heritage have experienced delays obtaining visas, with a USA player born in Pakistan, Ali Khan, claiming to have had his visa request denied. As India looks to host more global events, including the Badminton World Championships this year and the 2030 Commonwealth Games, this should be something that NGBs prepare for. With 3.8% of the UK population identifying as ethnically Pakistani or Bangladeshi, according to the 2021 Census, this will likely affect multiple members of the Commonwealth Games delegation if tensions persist. With ambitions to host the 2036 Olympics, the Commonwealth Games are widely regarded as a dress rehearsal for their Olympic bid. All this comes as the Indian Olympic Association grapples with governance concerns raised by the IOC, making this bid far from a certainty.

To take a famous Hemingway quote which applies to recent major international developments, things happen “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly”. This is relevant to governance as you can’t predict exactly when or if these tensions may boil over. However, by being aware of the risk and the speed at events may unravel, you can plan for the contingency.

The Bigger Picture

With the USA due to co-host the FIFA Men’s World Cup this year, there have been calls from European political and footballing figures to consider a boycott in reaction to Donald Trump’s foreign policy actions and rhetoric. Fan boycotts have also been increasingly mooted in response to these issues as well as to exploitative ticket prices and most concerningly, ICE’s actions across the US have raised moral, safety and visa-related concerns for visitors. All of this is despite a fast-tracked visa system for ticket holders and exemptions to the entry restrictions of 12 countries for the World Cup and Olympics.

Entry into the country for athletes from all eligible participant countries is a pre-requisite for hosting most major sporting events, meaning if there are doubts over this in the bidding process, this should significantly weaken any bid. In practice, this isn’t always the case as shown by the Pakistani and Indian cricket teams refusing to enter one another’s country and Indonesia’s recent refusal of visas for Israeli athletes. Once a country does block entry to a certain nation, this can have long-lasting effects on their ability to host going forwards. Furthermore, with the war in Ukraine still ongoing and Russian athletes still competing under neutral flags at the Olympics, these 2 nations who have historically been capable of hosting large events seem unlikely to be hosting major international events anytime soon.

What all this means for the UK’s sporting environment?

In the current political landscape, the centre of the Venn diagram of countries with the necessary infrastructure and those that international federations can be certain will be open to the world is shrinking. This will likely not remain the case indefinitely. Even if political tensions remain heightened for the foreseeable future, as countries develop and improve their sporting infrastructure, more will be able to host major international events. Additionally, the UK benefits from sitting in a time zone suitable for international broadcasting and as it has done recently for the Commonwealth Games, has the capacity and the expertise to host international competitions if hosts do drop out, further underlining our reliability as a destination.

As UK Sport has openly stated through their strategy, “Making Live Sport Matter”, hosting international competitions is a key goal to strengthen our global reputation, deliver meaningful social impact, drive economic benefits and further improve the UK’s event-hosting capability and reputation for the future. With some of the usual and emerging key competitors to host these events becoming less appealing for the time being, this could be an opportune moment for UK national governing bodies to give themselves the best possible chance of hosting major international competitions.