Taliban has banned IPL 2021 from airing in Afghanistan as it might showcase anti-Islamic content to its people.
Former media manager of the Afghanistan Cricket Board and Journalist M Ibrahim Momand hinted that the reason behind the ban was possibly anti-Islamic content being shown during the IPL broadcast. He said in a tweet, “Afghanistan national Radio Television will not broadcast the @IPL as usual as it was reportedly banned to live the matches resumed tonight due to possible anti-islam contents, girls dancing & the attendence of barred hair women in the Stadium by Islamic Emirates of the Taliban.”
https://twitter.com/IbrahimReporter/status/1439629807134904326?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAccording to reports, the ban was imposed and IPL telecast was halted from the start of the very first match since the restart played between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
Taliban is known for its strong opposition to any form of entertainment including sports, music, etc. During the previous Taliban rule that ended in 2001, the Taliban militants had turned stadiums into public execution venues. Despite past horrors with sports, Cricket became fairly popular in Afghanistan in the recent times with the absence of Taliban. But the return of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Taliban back in power would likely bring end to the sport. Bashir Ahmad Rustamzai, Afghanistan’s new director general for sports refrained from answering anything on the future of women playing sports in Afghanistan and said that the decision would be taken by top Taliban leaders.
On September 9, Cricket Australia issued a statement that said if the recent media allegations against Taliban led Islamist government in Afghanistan that it will not support women’s cricket were proved to be true than Cricket Australia will not host the Afghanistan men’s team for the proposed test match in Hobart.
https://twitter.com/CricketAus/status/1435784792679747587?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe statement released by Australian Cricketers’ Association said, “What is happening now in Afghanistan is a human rights issue that transcends the game of cricket. And while we would love to see players such as Rashid Khan play against Australia, hosting this Test match cannot be considered if that same opportunity to play the game is denied to Roya Samim and her teammates.”
Reportedly Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission told the media “they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this.”