Off the air in Bangladesh, IPL begins today sans glitz

The 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin today and it is set to differ from all previous seasons in at least two regards.

Firstly, there will be no glitzy opening ceremony before the tournament opener between the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru today.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is skipping the ceremony as a mark of respect to the 11 people who lost their lives at the same venue during RCB’s trophy parade last year.

Secondly, for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 2007, it won’t be telecast in Bangladesh.

On January 5 this year, the ICT Ministry had issued a letter, instructing all television channels and radio stations in the country not to broadcast the tournament.

“In this situation, it is requested that all IPL matches and related programs be suspended from broadcast or telecast until further instructions are given,” the letter read.

It had claimed to have taken this decision in “public interest”, in response to BCCI removing Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL seemingly under political pressure from right wing groups.

Mustafizur had earlier been roped in by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 9.20 crore from the auction and was set to be Bangladesh’s lone representative this year, before being removed.

The Mustafizur row snowballed into Bangladesh getting replaced by Scotland in the ICC T20 World Cup after the Tigers refused to travel to India over security concerns.

Recently, however, State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Islam has hinted at a possible reversal of the suspension.

“Sports shouldn’t be politicised. We have to know why it [IPL] was closed [broadcasting in Bangladesh], and later we can make a decision,” Aminul was quoted by Cricbuzz.

As it stands, the suspension remains in place, leaving Bangladeshi fans without official access to the IPL for the first time.