A month after India had banned the live telecast of Pakistan Super League (PSL), Pakistan have now responded by suspending the broadcast of Indian Premier League, country's Information and Broadcasting minister Fawad Chaudhry confirmed. The decision comes a month after DSport, the official broadcasters of the Pakistan Premier League (PSL) in India, stopped the coverage of the tournament in protest of the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel. Indian company IMG Reliance had also pulled out of its deal to produce the television coverage of the PSL worldwide forcing the Pakistan-based T20 league to find a new production company midway into the tournament. "During the PSL, the way the Indian companies and the government treated Pakistan cricket after that, we can't tolerate that IPL is shown in Pakistan," Pakistan's I&B minister Fawad Chaudhry told ARY News. Chaudhry also accused the Indian team of politicising cricket. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take action against the Indian cricket team for sporting camouflage caps during an ODI in a five-match series against Australia. However, the ICC had confirmed that the BCCI had taken prior permission before players wore the army caps. "We tried to keep politics and cricket apart but then the Indian cricket team played matches wearing army caps against Australia and there was no action taken against it," the minister said. "I feel if IPL is not shown in Pakistan, it will be a loss for IPL and Indian cricket. We are a cricketing superpower in international cricket," Chaudhry claimed. The twelfth edition of the IPL will begin on March 23 with the defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore.<doc-sep>Reports: IPL 2019 coverage to be banned in Pakistan The 12th edition of the tournament will commence on March 23. While the entire world is all set to witness yet another year of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pakistan have reportedly decided to ban its coverage. The development comes in the wake of the Pulwama attack that had claimed the lives of 44 CRPF personnels. The attack was carried out by Pakistan-based militancy group Jaish-e-Mohammed. In the wake of the dastardly attack, there was an anti-Pakistan sentiment across the nation. The BCCI and others related to cricket had taken quite a number of steps to show solidarity with the entire nation. IMG-Reliance had also done its bit by cutting tie with the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The Indian company had pulled out of its deal to produce television coverage of the PSL worldwide at a time when the league was underway. Before that DSport had stopped the coverage of the league in India. And it looks Pakistan have decided to give India a reply. Saj Sadiq, a renowned cricket journalist from Pakistan, took to Twitter to state that there are reports suggesting that Pakistan government is all set to ban the broadcast of IPL matches in their country. “Television reports are stating that the Government has decided to ban the broadcast of IPL matches in Pakistan,” wrote Sadiq. Television reports are stating that the Government has decided to ban the broadcast of IPL matches in Pakistan #Cricket #IPL2019 — Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) March 20, 2019 The twelfth edition of the Indian Premier League, meanwhile, will get underway on March 23 with the defending champions Chennai Super Kings taking on Royal Challengers Bangalore. Pakistan’s ploys backfire In the last month or so, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has tried to do all it can to get BCCI into a tight spot but have been left red-faced. They had accused India of politicising the game after the players donned military caps in the third ODI against Australia. The PCB had asked the ICC to take action against BCCI only to hear that the Indian board had already sought the permission from the governing body. The PCB also recently paid the BCCI approximately USD 1.6 million as compensation after losing the case in the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee. The PCB had sued India for not adhering to a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2014. [interaction id=”5c8fb43a0e019f4f4a6b7164″]<doc-sep>Pakistani cricket fans are exploring options on social media to watch the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches after the government banned the telecast of the Twenty20 league in the country. In a tit for tat response to an Indian company withdrawing its production team midway through the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in UAE last month, the Pakistan government stopped IPL telecast. Even though Pakistani players have not been invited to play in the IPL since 2008, the IPL has been widely watched in the country every year either on a Private Pakistani sports channel or on Indian channels. But since diplomatic relations between Pakistan and India deteriorated after the Pulwama incident on February 14, the Pakistan government has banned the airing of Indian content on television and also screening of Indian films in cinema halls. Pakistani cable operators and other companies, in line with government directives, have also blocked all Indian sports channels in the country. “I don’t know if the government has done the right thing by doing what India did during the PSL. They tried to damage our tournament and mix cricket with politics,” a former Test player who declined to be named said. Pakistani minister for information and broadcasting, Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry recently announced that the IPL would not be shown in Pakistan. “During the PSL, the way the Indian companies and the government treated Pakistan cricket, after that, we can’t tolerate that IPL is shown in Pakistan,” Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry told a Pakistan news channel.<doc-sep>The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) begins on Saturday but it won’t be telecast in Pakistan according to their Minister of Information and Broadcasting Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry. This comes after the telecast of Pakistan Super League 2019 was stopped in India by the official broadcasters following the dastardly Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans last month. Also Read: Virat Kohli’s RCB fight against history to stop CSK juggernaut “During the PSL, the way the Indian companies and the government treated Pakistan cricket... after that, we can’t tolerate that IPL is shown in Pakistan,” Chaudhry told a Pakistan news channel. “We tried to keep politics and cricket apart but then the Indian cricket team played matches wearing army caps against Australia. “There was no action taken against that. I feel if IPL is not shown in Pakistan it will be a loss for IPL and Indian cricket. We are a cricketing superpower in international cricket,” the minister added. The upcoming edition of the IPL is scheduled to be played from March 23 to May 4. Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Chepauk in IPL opener. Also Read: Zaheer Khan reveals MI speedster Jasprit Bumrah’s idol The schedule was released in parts by the BCCI owing to the General Elections which will he held around the same time. The final group match will be played between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders.<doc-sep>
The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League is all set to begin on Saturday (23 March) with defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Chepauk stadium. BCCI announces full schedule for the league stage of #VIVOIPL 2019 Click here for more details - https://t.co/bAUBCFgZla pic.twitter.com/3e66Skw3Z2 March 19, 2019 However, just as the cash-rich event is about to begin, Pakistan Minister of Information and Broadcasting Fawad Ahmed Chaudhry said in a statement that the country won’t broadcast IPL. The ban on telecast comes after India had banned the Pakistan Super League 2019 following the dastardly Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans. “During the PSL, the way the Indian companies and the government treated Pakistan cricket... after that, we can’t tolerate that IPL is shown in Pakistan,” Chaudhry told a Pakistan news channel. “We tried to keep politics and cricket apart but then the Indian cricket team played matches wearing army caps against Australia. “There was no action taken against that. I feel if IPL is not shown in Pakistan it will be a loss for IPL and Indian cricket. We are a cricketing superpower in international cricket,” the minister added. Announcement : The #VIVOIPL schedule for the first two weeks is out. The first match of the 2019 season will be played between @ChennaiIPL and @RCBTweets Details - https://t.co/wCi6dYHlXL pic.twitter.com/TaYdXNKVSx — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 19, 2019 The upcoming edition of the IPL is scheduled to be played from March 23 to May 4. The schedule was released in parts by the BCCI so as to not clash with the General Elections. The final group match will be played between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders and the finals will be held in Chennai.