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IPL 2021 broadcast banned in Afghanistan

The IPL had been aired live in the country for several years

ACB-IPL Collage of Afghanistan Cricket Board and IPL logos

The ongoing Indian Premier League season in the UAE will not be telecast in Afghanistan, due to its “anti-Islamic content”. Former Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) media manager and journalist M. Ibrahim Momand had tweeted that the Taliban regime had barred the broadcast because of the dancing cheerleaders and the bare-headed women in the stadium.

Three Afghan players are expected to play—Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman, all for Sunrisers Hyderabad—but their home supporters will not get to watch them play in this UAE leg of the 2021 season.

The IPL had been aired live in the country for several years. In 2019, Ariana Television had the sole right to broadcast the tournament, while in 2020 it was aired by the national broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan. Lemar TV had bagged the rights to show the matches earlier this year when the 2021 season began in India, but since the Taliban takeover, things have changed.

On the Taliban’s terms

The political developments in recent months could peg back the “revival of Afghan cricket” that the ACB had proudly declared in 2017 when it earned Full Member status.

When the Taliban held power in the country between 1996 and 2001, it had banned participation in professional sports as it believed it kept men away from prayers. Now, though cricket is allowed, women are still banned from playing.

This could be a problem for the national cricket board, as the ICC mandates the setting up of a women’s team for a nation to have Full Member status.

Earlier today, it was reported that the Taliban had sacked the executive director of the ACB Hamid Shinwari, replacing him with Naseebullah Haqqani, who is sought by the FBI in connection with several high-profile attacks on Kabul during the Taliban war with US-backed governments.

Afghanistan was scheduled to play Australia in a one-off Test match in Hobart at the end of November, but Cricket Australia (CA) has threatened to call off the match if the Afghan women’s team is banned from playing international cricket.

The men’s team will participate in the ICC T20 World Cup in October, and will face India and Pakistan in the group stage. 

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