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Bangladesh Drops Indian Presenter from BPL Amid IPL Broadcast Ban

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has removed Indian presenter Ridhima from the BPL presentation panel. This follows the Bangladesh government's decision to suspend the broadcast of IPL 2026 matches in the country, a move triggered by the BCCI instructing KKR to release Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman. In a related development, the ICC has rejected the BCB's request to shift Bangladesh's T20 World Cup 2026 matches from India to Sri Lanka. The ICC has stated the team must play in India or risk forfeiting points.

Key Points: Indian Presenter Dropped from BPL Amid Bangladesh-India Tensions

  • Ridhima dropped from BPL presentation
  • Bangladesh suspends IPL 2026 broadcast
  • ICC rejects BCB's request to move T20 World Cup matches
  • Tensions follow BCCI's directive on Mustafizur Rahman
  • BCB risks forfeiting World Cup points
2 min read

Bangladesh drops Indian presenter from BPL presentation panel

Bangladesh removes Indian presenter Ridhima from BPL panel following the suspension of IPL broadcast over Mustafizur Rahman's release from KKR.

"Under these circumstances... all IPL matches and related programs will remain suspended from broadcast/telecast in Bangladesh - Press Information Department"

Dhaka, January 7

The Indian presenter Ridhima has been removed from the presentation panel of the Bangladesh Premier League. Local media reported on Wednesday, quoting sources in the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

She was scheduled to host the Dhaka edition of this year's BPL, but she was dropped from the presentation team before arriving in Bangladesh. The current edition of the BPL began in Sylhet.

The BPL authorities also introduced significant new elements to the presentation and commentary panels this season.

Pakistani presenter Zainab Abbas arrived in Bangladesh, along with renowned commentators such as Waqar Younis, Ramiz Raja, and Darren Gough. Ridhima was scheduled to join them, but she will no longer attend.

The development comes after the Bangladesh government, on January 5, decided to suspend the broadcast of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 matches in the country following the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asking Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad.

The IPL gets underway on March 26. This development follows the announcement by the KKR that they had removed Bangladeshi player Rahman from their IPL 2026 roster in response to a directive from the BCCI regarding atrocities committed against minorities in Bangladesh.

"Under these circumstances, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has informed through an official letter that, until further notice, all IPL matches and related programs will remain suspended from broadcast/telecast in Bangladesh", the Press Information Department (PID) said in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected the BCB's request to shift their matches from India to Sri Lanka for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, according to ESPNcricinfo.

The report said a virtual call on Tuesday took place between the ICC and BCB, during which the ICC informed the Board that it was rejecting the latter's request to shift Bangladesh's matches outside India due to security concerns.

The report further added that the ICC have told the BCB that their senior men's national cricket team will need to travel to India to play their T20 World Cup matches or risk forfeiting points.

It is to be noted that there has been no official statement issued by BCB or ICC on the outcome of Tuesday's call, which was arranged after BCB wrote in on Sunday, asking to consider moving Bangladesh's matches to Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2026, as per ESPNcricinfo.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
As a cricket fan, this is sad to see. The BPL-IPL rivalry was fun, but now it's getting messy. Hope both boards can resolve their issues soon for the sake of the game.
A
Aditya G
While I understand Bangladesh's reaction, removing an individual presenter seems petty. The core issue is the BCCI's directive about Mustafizur. That's what needs diplomatic discussion, not punishing commentators.
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Priyanka N
Feel bad for Ridhima. She lost a professional opportunity because of board-level disputes. Also, the ICC is right—teams must play where scheduled. Security in India for World Cup events is always top-class.
M
Michael C
The whole situation is escalating unnecessarily. Banning IPL broadcasts hurts Bangladeshi fans more than anyone. And now a capable presenter is caught in the crossfire. Not a good look for cricket administration.
K
Karthik V
Honestly, the BCCI also needs to reflect. Our board's strong-arm tactics sometimes create these diplomatic spats. We want to be the leaders of world cricket, which requires more statesmanship. This back-and-forth helps no one.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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