The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has instructed all broadcasters in Bangladesh to stop airing the Indian Premier League (IPL) after fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of the 2026 season.
The directive was issued on Monday through an official notification signed by assistant secretary Firoz Khan. The order applies to all IPL matches and related programming and will remain in effect until further notice.
The notice said the ministry had taken cognisance of a decision by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to exclude Mustafizur from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for the IPL season scheduled to begin on 26 March 2026.
“No reasonable justification for such a decision is known,” the notification said. “Such a decision has hurt, distressed and angered the people of Bangladesh.”
“In these circumstances, it is requested, by order, that all matches and programmes of the Indian Premier League be stopped from broadcast and transmission until further instructions,” it added, stating that the directive was issued in the public interest with approval from the appropriate authorities.
Speculation around Mustafizur’s participation in the upcoming IPL had intensified in recent days. Several hardline Hindu nationalist groups in India had publicly called for his exclusion, staging protests and demonstrations. Earlier, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia informed officials that Mustafizur had been directed to be omitted from the tournament.
Kolkata Knight Riders later confirmed that the Bangladesh international was no longer part of their squad.
Mustafizur is a central figure in Bangladesh’s national side and a familiar presence in franchise cricket. His omission and the subsequent response from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have added a political edge to the build-up to the next IPL season.
For now, IPL coverage in Bangladesh has been suspended, with no indication of when broadcasts might resume.
