Kolkata Knight Riders Lose 1 Million Followers After Dropping Mustafizur Rahman

The decision by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to drop Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL squad has had a major impact on the franchise's social media presence. In addition to removing Mustafiz from the squad, KKR also deleted all posts related to the Bangladeshi pacer from their Facebook and Instagram pages. This move sparked widespread anger among Bangladeshi fans, leading to a massive wave of unfollows.

Within just 24 hours, KKR lost over 1 million followers on social media. The team, which was once extremely popular in Bangladesh due to the presence of cricketers like Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das, had seen increased interest following Mustafiz’s acquisition for ₹9.2 crore. However, the abrupt removal of Mustafiz from the squad under BCCI’s orders and the deletion of related content quickly turned that affection into outrage. KKR's follower count dropped from 18.1 million to 17 million, losing over 1 million followers.

Meanwhile, Mustafiz’s exclusion is now impacting the upcoming T20 World Cup as well. Bangladesh's four group-stage matches, originally scheduled to be held in India, are under review due to security concerns. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has already written to the ICC, requesting the relocation of these matches to a safer venue.

According to Cricbuzz, the ICC has shown a positive response to this request, and a final decision may be announced soon. Bangladesh is placed in Group C, where they will face England, West Indies, Nepal, and Italy. Three of their matches were set to be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and one at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.