Ridhima Pathak BPL Controversy: Indian sports presenter Ridhima Pathak took to Instagram on Wednesday to clarify reports about her role in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL 2026). Ridhima Pathak stated that she was not dropped from the hosting panel by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) but had personally chosen to opt out, emphasizing that her nation always comes first.
The clarification comes amid reports suggesting a downturn in sporting ties between India and Bangladesh, which claimed that Pathak had been officially removed from the BPL hosting duties. However, the current edition of the tournament has already begun in Sylhet.
Indian sports presenter Ridhima Pathak told Zee News, “Remember, I never set foot on the soil of Bangladesh! I never went for the league. I had opted out while I was doing ILT20. They had asked me to come because they had no other local talent. I was planning to join them after ILT20, but with everything that happened, I decided to say no.”
Ridhima Pathak Co-Hosted BPL 2025-2026
Ridhima Pathak, known for hosting many cricket shows for Star Sports and Sony Sports in India, was set to co-host BPL 2025-26 in Bangladesh with Pakistan’s Zainab Abbas. This season, the BPL has revamped its presentation and commentary teams after Ridhima decided to opt out from the tournament. Now, Zainab has arrived in Bangladesh with veteran commentators Waqar Younis, Ramiz Raja, and Darren Gough, while Ridhima will no longer be joining them.
Bangladeshi Bowler Mustafizur Rahman Row Sparks Tension
The tensions grew when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to let Bangladeshi bowler Mustafizur Rahman go from their team. In response, the Bangladesh government banned the live broadcast of the Indian Premier League (IPL) across the country and asked for its T20 World Cup matches to be moved to Sri Lanka. Notably, the IPL is set to begin on March 26, 2026.
Bangladesh responded by holding an emergency BCB meeting, asking the ICC to move their T20 World Cup matches out of India over security concerns. They also banned the live broadcast of the IPL. However, the ICC reportedly told Bangladesh that their matches must be played in India, or they could forfeit them.
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