Cricket fans in Bangladesh can now watch IPL 2026 matches on their screens. The country’s newly appointed Information and Broadcasting Minister, Zahir Uddin Swapan, confirmed that the government has no plans to block the telecast of the Indian Premier League.
This comes just as the 2026 season gets underway, with the opening match already played on March 28.
Why Was IPL Banned in Bangladesh
The trouble started in early 2025 when IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders did not allow Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman to participate in IPL 2026. The decision came amid tensions following violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.
In protest, the then-interim government of Bangladesh, led by Muhammad Yunus, issued an official letter on January 5 directing all broadcasters and cable operators to stop airing IPL matches and related content in Bangladesh until further notice.
What the New Government Said
A new democratic government took office in Bangladesh on February 12 after general elections. After coming to power, the Ministry of Information wrote to the Ministry of Sports to seek an opinion on whether the ban should be continued or lifted.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan has now made the government’s position clear. He said the government does not want to mix politics with sport and will treat the matter as a commercial decision.
“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 said, as quoted by Deutsche Welle.
He also confirmed that international sports broadcaster Star Sports is free to air IPL matches in Bangladesh if it chooses to do so.
“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.
Sports Minister Awaits Final Consultation
Bangladesh Sports Minister Aminul Haque told ANI that the formal decision would be announced after consulting with the Information Minister, who was on an official foreign tour at the time of the statement and was expected to return on March 30.
“We will make the decision about lifting the ban on IPL broadcast in Bangladesh after consulting with the Information Minister. Once he returns to the country, we will discuss it with him and then make a decision,” Haque said.
Cable Operators Support the Move
The Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh has also backed the development. Its office secretary, Rezaul Karim Lablu, confirmed that cable operators have received no official instructions to block IPL broadcasts.
Lablu made it clear that the directives issued by the previous interim government are no longer valid under the current administration.
“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,” he said.
