'Doesn't affect BCCI revenue': Bangladesh's ban on IPL telecast to have no impact on league's returns

Bangladesh banned the telecast of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the country on Monday after the exclusion of their star fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the tournament’s 2026 edition. The move though will hardly have any impact on the league revenues, if experts are to be believed.

Rahman was sold for Rs 9.2 crore at the 2026 IPL auction with Kolkata Knight Riders signing the pacer for the highest amount for any Bangladeshi player in the history of the competition. He was the only player from Bangladesh to be bought at the auction but with attacks on minorities on the rise in Bangladesh, demands grew in India to release the left-arm pacer.

BCCI then instructed KKR to release Rahman who will now not be part of the next season of world’s biggest cricket league. However, the decision angered fans in Bangladesh and led to the board in the country writing to the International Cricket Council to move their matches at the upcoming T20 World Cup out of India due to security concerns. Bangladesh also banned the telecast of the league as a retaliatory measure.

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No impact on BCCI revenues

Bangladesh players have found it difficult to break into IPL sides which attract the best talent in the world. Rahman has been in and around multiple sides but is also not a regular fixture in the league. Due to less presence of Bangladesh players in the league, the viewership in the country is also limited and that is one of the reasons why the ban would not have much financial impact.

“I don’t see this move, banning IPL broadcasts in Bangladesh, having a big impact. It doesn’t affect BCCI’s revenue, nor does it change what the broadcaster would pay,” Santosh N, managing partner at D&P Advisory Services, a valuation service provider, told Business Standard.

N Chandramouli, chief executive officer of TRA Research, said that with the league’s valuation consistently growing, the losses will be offset in other ways.

“Any revenue loss will likely be offset by other brands stepping in. The IPL continues to grow, and existing sponsors may increase their advertising in the upcoming seasons,” he told the publication.

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T-Sports holds the rights to telecast the IPL in Bangladesh till 2027 and the report states that payments for the broadcast rights are agreement-bound even if matches cannot be aired.

In fact, experts also believe that while the impact of ban on IPL will be negligible, the same cannot be said about Bangladeshi advertisers.

Brand Finance’s Ajimon Francis has said that the sharper pain sits with Bangladesh-side ad inventory rather than the IPL which will witness a net impact of “less than 2%”.