Can KKR cancel Mustafizur Rahman’s ₹9.2 crore IPL contract?:Shah Rukh Khan called ‘traitor’ for buying most expensive Bangladeshi player

Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan is facing huge backlash after his team signed Bangladeshi player Mustafizur Rahman in the IPL 2026 auction. While the auction took place in December, the recent killings of Hindus in Bangladesh have soured the relations between the two countries. Major political figures in India are now questioning KKR’s decision to spend ₹9.2 crores on Mustafizur Rahman, who became the most expensive Bangladeshi player in the auction. Uttar Pradesh BJP leader and former Sardhana MLA Sangeet Singh Som called the Bollywood superstar a ‘gaddar (traitor).’ Also read: India’s ODI squad combination challenges ahead of New Zealand series Why is Shah Rukh Khan being targeted? KKR purchased Mustafizur Rahman in the IPL 2026 auction in December. He was the only Bangladeshi player purchased in the auction. Several others had registered for the auction, but they went unsold. Interestingly, KKR had the biggest purse in the auction, and they made Rahman, a death specialist, the most expensive Bangladeshi player in IPL history. However, given the recent killings of Hindus in Bangladesh, politicians and public figures have targeted Shah Rukh and his franchise. Devkinandan Thakur and Jagadguru Rambhadracharya have slammed Shah Rukh Khan and his franchise for employing Mustafizur. Can KKR cancel Mustafizur Rahman’s contract? There are two ways to look at the situation. Given KKR’s bowling depth, Mustafizur being removed from KKR would have little impact on their on-field displays. However, KKR cannot legally cancel Rahman’s contract based on non-sporting reasons. Also read: BCCI warned of ODI’s slow death post Rohit-Kohli era A player and an IPL team are bound by a legal contract after the IPL auction. The contract can be cancelled by mutual agreement, but it remains to be seen whether Shah Rukh Khan-owned KKR actually decide to take a call on the same. What Shah Rukh Khan said on ban of Pakistani players in IPL Given the tense relations between India and Pakistan, Pakistani players were banned from the IPL after the conclusion of the inaugural season. SRK had commented on the matter back in 2010. “I think it’s actually humiliating to me as a KKR owner that this has happened. We are known to be good, we are known to invite everyone, and we should have. And if there were any issues, they should have been put out earlier so that everything could happen respectfully,” Shah Rukh had reportedly told NDTV. The Bollywood actor had added, “There is going to be a section of people who have suddenly gotten up and have said, rightly or wrongly, ‘ Australians will not be allowed to play’. So here is a set of people who are spending up to Rs 70, 80, 90 crore on trying to win a tournament and suddenly, even if you say this much to me, I’m like ‘uh-oh, so should I take or shouldn’t I take him?'”