NEW DELHI (Kashmir English): India’s JioStar has terminated its broadcast deals in Bangladesh for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, saying its local partner defaulted on payments, international media reported quoting documents.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani owns the entertainment venture. In January, Bangladesh banned IPL broadcasts after one of the IPL teams, Kolkata Knight Riders, dropped Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman on the Indian cricket board’s instruction, just as tensions rose between the two nations following the killing of a Hindu man in Bangladesh.
Though Bangladesh announced reviewing the ban and had on Saturday said that any further steps will depend on its sports ministry, the termination by JioStar means there will be no local broadcaster for the IPL season, even if the country were to change its stance.
“The agreement stands terminated with immediate effect,” Indian entertainment venture, JioStar, said in a February 17 letter to Bangladesh broadcaster TSports, which had sublicensed the rights from JioStar for IPL seasons from 2023 to 2027.
The company cited its partner’s “continued failure and default in adhering to the payment timelines stipulated under the agreement”.
JioStar is a joint venture of Ambani’s Reliance and Walt Disney. TSports and Bangladesh’s sports and information ministries did not comment on the development.
IPL’s latest season started on March 28
IPL is the world’s richest cricket league valued at $18.5 billion, and enjoys huge popularity among the cricket-viewing public in Bangladesh. Its latest season started on March 28.
A separate JioStar letter, also dated February 17, showed the company has also terminated its broadcast deals in Bangladesh for the Women’s Premier League cricket tournament over similar reasons.
