The Taliban have warned media outlets in Afghanistan not to broadcast the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 due to the presence of female spectators in stadiums.
“Ridiculous: Taliban have banned the broadcasting of Indian Premier League (IPL) in Afghanistan. Taliban have warned that Afghan media outlets should not broadcast the Indian Cricket League due to girls dancing and the presence of the female audience and spectators in stadiums,” tweeted Afghan journalist Fawad Aman.
The UAE leg of IPL is underway and two matches have been played between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The knockout stage of IPL 2021 is scheduled to begin on October 10 with the final slated to be held on October 15.
Notably, the Taliban banned most forms of entertainment — including many sports and women have been completely banned from playing sport. Even though the hardline group has shown they do not mind men playing cricket, pulling together a match in Kabul shortly after foreign forces withdrew.
Australia had earlier issued a statement, saying if the recent media allegations against the Taliban-led hardline government in Afghanistan that it will not support women’s cricket were proved to be true, then Cricket Australia will not host the Afghanistan men’s team for the proposed Test match in Hobart.
Meanwhile, it has also been reported that teams will also not play against Afghanistan in T20 World Cup, which is slated to be starting from October 17 in the UAE and Oman.
