Kamal Ghorui
Bangladesh has denied reports claiming that the ban on the broadcast of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been lifted, with the country’s ministry of information and broadcasting stating that the earlier decision to suspend telecast remains in place.In a statement issued on Saturday and reported by Bangladesh news outlet Daily Star, the Bangladesh broadcasting ministry said the previous government’s order is still effective. It added that it has sought the opinion of the ministry of youth and sports, with a letter sent on March 25, 2026, and any further decision will depend on that response.
Earlier in the day, reports had suggested that the Bangladesh government had lifted the restriction, citing comments by information and broadcast minister Zahir Uddin Swapan in an interview with Deutsche Welle.“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 had told Deutche Welle.Following these reports, the ministry issued a clarification.“The news titled ‘Govt lift bar on IPL telecast in Bangladesh’ published in The Daily Star and similar reports in other media outlets regarding the withdrawal of the ban on IPL broadcast in Bangladesh have come to our attention.”“The previous government’s decision to suspend IPL telecast remains in effect. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has sent a letter seeking opinions and recommendations from the Ministry of Youth and Sports on this matter. Based on the opinion of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Information Ministry will take further steps,” the statement said, as cited by Daily Star.The restriction was introduced earlier after the Kolkata Knight Riders did not allow Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman to participate. In response, the Bangladesh interim government decided to stop the live broadcast of the IPL in Bangladesh.On January 5, the interim government issued a directive to halt all live IPL broadcasts and related content until further notice.After the general election on February 12, a new government took office. The ministry said it has not yet received a response from the sports ministry and will take a decision after that.IPL 2026 begins on Saturday with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru facing Sunrisers Hyderabad. Kolkata Knight Riders will start their campaign against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium on March 29.
