Bangladesh has signaled a major change in its stance on broadcasting the Indian Premier League (IPL).IPL), newly appointed Information and Broadcasting Minister Zaheeruddin Supan confirmed that there is no ban on telecasting the tournament in the country.The development comes in the wake of the uncertainty surrounding the broadcast of the IPL following the ban imposed by the previous interim government led by Prof Muhammad Younis. The earlier directive barred local channels and operators from telecasting the tournament, denying fans access to the world’s most popular T20 league.However, the new administration seems to be taking a more flexible and commercially driven approach. Speaking to Deutsche Welle, Swapan clarified that no broadcaster had formally applied for the telecast rights but assured that any such application would be given positive consideration.“Nobody has applied to telecast the IPL. We don’t want to mix politics with sports. We will look at it from a commercial perspective,” Sopan said.He further stressed that the government will not impose restrictions on broadcasters, including international networks.“We will not stop 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.The Bangladesh Cable Operators Association has also supported the move. Office Secretary Raza Al Karim Lublu confirmed that currently there are no directives to stop IPL broadcast in the country.“If Star Sports telecasts the IPL in Bangladesh, they can do it because no one has asked us to stop it,” Liblo said.He added that the earlier instructions issued by the interim government were no longer valid.“These directives are no longer relevant. If the current government asks us to stop it, we will do so, but there are no such directives yet,” he added.
