New Delhi: Amid Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)’s refusal to send the Bangladesh cricket team to India for the T20 World Cup 2026 next month, Bangladeshi umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat is officiating in the ongoing 1st ODI of the three-match series between India and Bangladesh at the BCA Stadium in Vadodara.

BCB confirmed that Sharfuddoula is officiating in the ongoing series between India and Bangladesh as he is an ICC-contracted umpire. He is the third umpire in the first ODI between India and New Zealand. However, the Bangladesh match official’s presence in India has raised eyebrows as BCB has refused to send the Bangladesh national team to play their T20 World Cup matches in the country.

The cricketing tiff between India and Bangladesh began earlier this month after Mustafizur Rahman was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from their IPL 2026 squad at the direction of the BCCI. Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur was bought by KKR for Rs 9.2 crore at the IPL 2026 auction last month.

However, he was released by the franchise after the BCCI asked them to do so amid heavy backlash on social media over rising violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. In retaliation for BCCI’s move, the BCB refused to send the Bangladesh team to India and wrote to the ICC to shift their matches from the country to Sri Lanka in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026.

BCB’s umpire department reacts to Sharfuddoula’s presence in India

Reacting to Bangladesh umpire Sharfuddoula’s presence in India for the ongoing ODI series between the hosts and New Zealand, the BCB’s umpire department said that the umpire doesn’t require a no-objection certificate from the board as he is an ICC-contracted match official.

BCB’s umpire department chairman, Iftekhar Rahman, said Sharfuddoula is free to leave and officiate anywhere whenever he receives a call from the ICC. Sharfuddoula is part of the ICC elite panel and recently officiated in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He is also the head of the BCB’s Umpire Education Department.

“He (Sharfuddoula) is ICC contracted umpire and we are saying this clearly that he is not contracted with us (BCB),” said Iftekhar.

“Now, in our contract it is written that when he has any ICC assignment, he will automatically be on leave from us. It will be an automatic leave and I don’t need to give any NOC. In the job contract he has with me, it is written that if he has any ICC engagement, he must be automatically released. There is no authority for me to decide whether I give permission or not,” he said.

While BCB has tried to distance itself from the Bangladeshi umpire’s presence in Vadodara for the 1st ODI between India and New Zealand, it has proved that the board has failed to provide valid security reasons as proof for their request to shift their matches away from India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026.