IPL broadcast suspension still in effect, ministry clarifies

The Ministry of Information has declared that the previous government’s decision to suspend the telecast of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is still in effect, in a statement issued on Saturday.

The ministry also said that it has sought the opinion of the Ministry of Youth and Sports regarding the matter. The letter sent to the sports ministry was dated March 25, 2026.

Earlier in the day, The Daily Star ran a story on its website titled ‘Govt lifts bar on IPL telecast in Bangladesh’, using a quote from the information and broadcast minister Zahir Uddin Swapan taken from a story ran by Deutsche Welle.

“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 had told Deutche Welle.

The ministry later issued a protest in response to this and similar reports on other media.

The protest read, “The news titled “Govt lift bar on IPL telecast in Bangladesh” published in The Daily Star and similar reports in other media outlets regarding the withdrawal of the ban on IPL broadcast in Bangladesh have come to our attention.

“The previous government’s decision to suspend IPL telecast remains in effect. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has sent a letter seeking opinions and recommendations from the Ministry of Youth and Sports on this matter. Based on the opinion of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Information Ministry will take further steps.

“In order to eliminate the misunderstanding created by these reports, we kindly request that this protest be urgently publicized,” it added.