Bangladesh will consider lifting a broadcast ban on the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which will start today (28 March).
Information Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan confirmed the matter to Deutsche Welle Bangla, saying that no channel has yet applied to broadcast the IPL, but the government will consider any such application favourably from a commercial, but not political, perspective.
The tournament will air on Star Sports. Local channel T-Sports, the previous rights holder, will not broadcast it due to scheduling and logistical challenges.
Swapan added that there is no bar on cable operators in Bangladesh airing Indian broadcaster Star Sports’ telecast of the tournament.
Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) Office Secretary Rezaul Karim Lablu told Deutsche Welle that IPL matches can be viewed on Star Sports, as no directive has been issued to stop the broadcast.
“If IPL is available on Star Sports, then it will be aired. No one has instructed us to stop it,” he said.
Regarding previous directives from the erstwhile interim government, he added, “Those instructions no longer hold any value. If the current government asks us to stop, we will comply. The directives of the previous government are no longer in effect.”
Meanwhile, Youth and Sports State Minister Aminul Haque told Deutsche Welle on Wednesday (25 March) that he wants to build friendly relations with India and believes politics should not be mixed with sports.
Earlier on 5 January, the information ministry had instructed that all IPL matches and related programmes be suspended in Bangladesh until further notice.
According to an official press release signed by Assistant Secretary Md Firoz Khan, the directive was issued in the public interest after Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad.
The ministry at the time stated that the decision by the Indian cricket board lacked any clear justification and had “hurt, saddened and angered” the people of Bangladesh.
The order further noted that not only live matches but all IPL-related programmes were to remain off-air until further instructions, with the directive issued upon approval from the appropriate authorities in consideration of public interest.
Mustafizur was initially signed by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs9.20 crore at the auction and was set to be Bangladesh’s sole representative in this year’s Indian Premier League before being released.
The issue later escalated, with Bangladesh being replaced by Scotland in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after the team refused to travel to India over security concerns.
The IPL will begin today with a clash between the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Bangladeshi sports channel T-Sports, which has held the broadcasting rights for the IPL in recent years, will not be airing the tournament this time.
Speaking to Deutsche Welle, T-Sports Executive Director Tasvir Ul Islam said, “There is not enough time left to properly prepare the marketing and all other logistics for an event like the IPL. Also, since broadcasting the IPL in Bangladesh is currently not possible, we have acquired the broadcasting rights for the PSL instead. This has created scheduling issues for us.”
Asked why preparations were not made earlier, Tasvir explained, “The IPL is a two-and-a-half-month tournament, so planning needs to start at the beginning of the year. This involves budget, advertisers, and many other factors. It cannot be arranged on short notice. The interim government’s ban on IPL broadcasting forced us to restructure our plans. Now, doing something on short notice is not feasible. We have already acquired the rights for the PSL, so we are not considering any new arrangements.”
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