Bangladesh’s new government has clarified its stance on the telecast of the IPL in its nation, as the newly appointed Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan, made a massive declaration lifting the former ban imposed by the interim government.
After the BCCI had banned Bangladesh players from participating in the IPL and also snubbed Mustafizur Rahman’s contract in IPL 2026, due to some of the elements following the atrocities against Hindus in the country of Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh government had then announced that the IPL broadcast would be banned in the nation. This move had created uncertainty among the broadcasters and cable operators ahead of the tournament.
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Bangladesh Minister lifts ban on IPL broadcast in Bangladesh
The interim government that had made the earlier decision has been dissolved, and the new government in the nation has cleared the way for the telecast of the IPL. The newly elected Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan confirmed that they will not impose any restrictions on the broadcasting of the tournament in the nation.
In a significant change in policy, the Minister clarified that the government does not intend to mix politics with sports and will instead evaluate the matter from a commercial perspective. He also added that anyone willing to broadcast those games can approach the concerned authorities.
“No one applied to us to telecast the IPL. We don’t want to mix politics with sport. We will look at it from a commercial perspective, and if any channel applies to telecast the IPL, we will consider it positively,” Swapan was quoted as saying by Deutsche Welle.
We will not bar anyone from telecasting it- Bangladesh’s I&B Minister
The Bangladesh minister, in a new report, then went on to claim further that Swapan also indicated that International Sports Network, including Star Sports, are free to broadcast the IPL in Bangladesh if they opt to do so.
He further stressed the fact that the government would neither impose any restrictions nor compel any other broadcaster nor prevent them from telecasting the IPL in the nation. His latest remarks confirm that the government has effectively moved away from that restrictive stance.
“We will not bar anyone from telecasting it. If Star Sports wants to telecast it, they can. If any of our channels want to telecast it, we will take it positively, but we will not force anything,” he added.
If Star Sports telecasts the IPL in Bangladesh, they can do it- Rezaul Lablu
The Bangladesh Cable Operators Association secretary, Rezaul Karim Lablu, also claimed that no one from the government asked them to prevent the broadcast of the IPL matches.
He then went on to add that the previous directives from the Interim government under Muhammad Yunus would no longer be considered viable in the nation. He also clarified that the operators are free to act on their own will until new orders are issued.
“If Star Sports telecasts the IPL in Bangladesh, they can do it because no one has asked us to stop it. Those directives of the interim government do not have any value. If this government asks us to stop it, we will do so, because the previous government’s directives are no longer in place,” Lablu said.
