Last Updated on March 28, 2026 4:02 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Bangladesh is open to considering a reversal of the ban on broadcasting the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League, which begins Friday, though no formal application has yet been made by any channel.
Information Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan told Deutsche Welle Bangla that the government would look at any request to telecast the IPL favourably, but purely from a commercial perspective.
The tournament will be aired on Star Sports, but Bangladeshi sports channel T-Sports, which held IPL rights in previous years, will not broadcast it this season because of scheduling and logistical constraints.
At the time of the ban, Bangladesh’s information ministry had said the decision by the Indian cricket board lacked clear justification and had “hurt, saddened and angered” the people of Bangladesh.
The order had further said that not only live matches but all IPL-related programmes would remain off-air until further instructions. It added that the directive had been issued with the approval of the appropriate authorities in consideration of public interest.
Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was initially picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 9.20 crore at the auction and was expected to be the country’s only representative in this year’s IPL before being released.
The issue later widened, 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 begins on Friday with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru facing Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
T-Sports, which has aired the IPL in Bangladesh in recent years, said it was no longer in a position to broadcast the tournament this time.
“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,” T-Sports Executive Director Tasvir Ul Islam told Deutsche Welle.
Asked why preparations had not been made earlier, Tasvir said the IPL required planning months in advance.
“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.” He added that the earlier ban had forced the channel to change its plans.
“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.”