The Bangladesh government has lifted the ban on the broadcast of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, with newly elected Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahid Uddin Swapan confirming the development on Saturday.
The latest decision comes after uncertainty surrounding the IPL broadcast following a ban imposed by the previous government, led by renowned economist Muhammad Yunus.
The earlier directive had prevented local channels and operators from airing the tournament, leaving Bangladeshi fans without access to one of the world’s most popular T20 franchise leagues.
However, the new administration has adopted a more lenient and liberal stance on the IPL broadcast, leaving some scope for improved relations between the two countries in the coming days.
Zahid said, “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.”
When asked whether the country’s new government would allow the broadcast of the IPL via Indian sports channels like Star Sports, he responded, “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.”
The 2026 season is set to kick off this evening, with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in front of the home crowd.
