Bangladesh lifts ban on IPL telecast, says sports should not mix with politics

Bangladesh has lifted restrictions on telecasting the IPL, with Information Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan saying sports should not be mixed with politics. Broadcasters are free to apply to air the tournament as the government adopts a commercial approach.

New Delhi: Bangladesh has cleared the way for the telecast of the Indian Premier League, with the newly appointed Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan confirming there are no restrictions on broadcasting the tournament in the country.

In a significant policy shift, Swapan said the government does not intend to mix politics with sports and will instead evaluate the matter from a commercial perspective. He noted that broadcasters willing to air the IPL can approach the authorities, and their applications would be considered positively.

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The clarification comes in the backdrop of an earlier ban imposed by the previous interim administration, which had halted IPL telecasts in Bangladesh. The move had created uncertainty among broadcasters and cable operators ahead of the tournament.

“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.

Swapan also indicated that international sports networks, including Star Sports, are free to broadcast the IPL in Bangladesh if they choose to. He emphasised that the government would neither impose restrictions nor compel any broadcaster, underlining a more open approach to sports broadcasting rights.

“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.

Earlier, Aminul Haque, the State Minister for Youth and Sports, had suggested that the authorities would revisit the issue and hold discussions with relevant stakeholders following the earlier ban. The latest remarks from the Information Minister now confirm that the government has effectively moved away from that restrictive stance.

Meanwhile, the Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh has also backed the development, stating that there are no directives in place to prevent the telecast of IPL matches. Its office secretary, Rezaul Karim Lablu, said cable operators would not block any broadcast feed in the absence of official instructions.

Lablu further pointed out that the directives issued under the previous administration led by Muhammad Yunus are no longer relevant, making it clear that operators are free to carry IPL broadcasts unless fresh 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.

The ban was imposed by the interim regime after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to end Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman’s contract for IPL 2026, after some elements following the killing of Hindus in Bangladesh.