Fake photocard claims Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan supports India’s decision to drop Mustafiz from IPL
A comment has recently spread on Facebook claiming that Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan supports the decision to exclude Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the 2016 IPL. However, Dismislab’s fact-check reveals that the Afghanistan’s T20 captain has not made any public comments about Mostafiz’s participation in the IPL.
A Facebook page named “T Sports Bangladesh” posted a photocard featuring photos of Mostafiz and Rashid. Inside the card, the text reads: “We fully support this decision not to allow Bangladeshi players to play in the IPL from a country whose people disrespect a great nation like India and trample their national flag. We always stand by our friendly nation India.” To indicate that Rashid made this comment, the Afghan spinner’s name is written in large font below. The caption reads, “Rashid Khan says.”
The post drew over 7,000 reactions and 2,400 comments and was shared 53 times.
The same card with the same claim was also posted from a personal Facebook profile with the caption: “What India’s agent Rashid Khan said about Mustafizur Rahman.”
To verify the authenticity of the claim, Dismislab conducted keyword searches but found no such statements by Rashid Khan in any media outlet. Additionally, no post containing such a comment was found on Rashid Khan’s official Facebook, Instagram, or X profiles.
Rashid Khan is currently playing for MI Cape Town in South Africa’s T20 franchise league SA20. On January 3, it was announced that Bangladeshi pacer Mostafiz would be released from his IPL team. After that, Rashid was seen speaking publicly before the media on January 4. He was seen talking about his own team and the game before and after the SA20 match. He did not say anything about the IPL or Mostafiz.
In other words, the comment attributed to Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan regarding Bangladesh cricketer Mustafizur Rahman’s exclusion from the upcoming 2026 IPL is fake.
For context Kolkata Knight Riders has dropped Mustafizur Rahman from their squad for the upcoming IPL 2026 season following instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Board Secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI, “Due to the ongoing political situation everywhere, BCCI has instructed Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad. Additionally, if KKR wants to sign another player in his place, the BCCI will grant permission for that as well.”
Disclaimer: The original version of this fact-check report was published in Bengali on Dismislab’s Bengali website on January 6th, 2026. The English translation was completed later; however, to maintain time accuracy and avoid any potential misinterpretation, the English version has been published with the original publication date.
