The UAE leg of the IPL 2021 will not be telecast in Afghanistan, as has been the case in the past, due to possible ‘anti-islam contents’ that could be aired during the programming. Afghanistan, now under the control of the Taliban. The regime has banned most forms of entertainment – including many sports – and Women were completely banned from playing sport.
Former Afghanistan Cricket Board media manager and journalist, M Ibrahim Momand, sent out a tweet stating that due to possible anti-islam content, girls dancing & the attendance of barred hair women in the Islamic Emirates of the Taliban, IPL broadcast is banned in the country.
Even though the hardline Islamists have shown they do not mind men playing cricket, pulling together a match in the capital Kabul shortly after foreign forces withdrew, Bashir Ahmad Rustamzai, Afghanistan’s new director-general for sports, had last week declined to answer as to whether women will be allowed to play sports — deferring it for top-level Taliban leaders to decide. The takeover has called into question the future of Afghanistan’s participation in Test matches, as under International Cricket Council regulations, nations must also have an active women’s team.
