IPL broadcast ban still in force, ministry clarifies

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Saturday, March 28, refuted a report claiming that the ban on broadcasting the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been lifted.

“The decision taken by the previous government to suspend IPL broadcasts still remains in force,” said a press release of the ministry.

The clarification came after Deutsche Welle Bangla reported, quoting Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan, that there is no bar on telecasting the upcoming Indian Premier League in Bangladesh.

"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.

Later, various national dailies and online news portals made stories, claiming the ban was lifted.

The release said a report published in The Daily Star under the headline 'Govt lifts bar on IPL telecast in Bangladesh' and similar reports carried by other media outlets regarding the withdrawal of the IPL broadcast ban in Bangladesh have come to the ministry’s notice.

Clarifying the matter, the ministry said the earlier decision to stop IPL broadcasts is still effective. 

It added that the ministry has already sought opinions and advice from the Ministry of Youth and Sports in this regard.

It said further steps would be taken based on the opinion of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The ministry requested all concerned media outlets to urgently publish its protest to remove any confusion created by the reports.

Source: BSS