Taliban bans IPL broadcast in Afghanistan due to 'possible anti-Islam' content

In the latest move by the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, the second leg of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League will not be telecasted in the country due to the possibility of 'anti-Islam content' that could be aired during the broadcast.

Former Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) media manager and journalist, M. Ibrahim Momand, revealed the same via his Twitter account on Sunday.

Momand wrote that the national television board has banned broadcasting IPL matches due to content involving girls dancing and barred hair women attending games.

He wrote:

''Afghanistan national 📻 📺 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 attendance of barred hair women in the 🏟️ by Islamic Emirates of the Taliban. #CSKvMI''

The latest diktat by the Taliban is yet another addition to the series of steps they have taken to ban all sorts of entertainment in the country.

While the new government have been open to the men's team playing international cricket, the regime has banned women from playing the sport, threatening the country's status as a full-member nation.

According to the ICC rules, for a country to remain a Test-playing nation, it must also have an active women's team.

Afghanistan's future in cricket under a cloud after Taliban takeover

While women's cricket continues to be banned in Afghanistan, the future of the men's team has also come under serious scrutiny. Cricket Australia has threatened to call off the historic maiden Test between the two countries in the upcoming summer Down Under.

Last week, ACB chairman Azizullah Fazli urged the Australian cricket board not to punish the men's team. During an interaction with SBS radio, Fazli said:

"We are powerless to change the culture and religious environment of Afghanistan."

As things stand, the ICC is yet to make any official statement on the situation. The team will take part in next month's T20 World Cup in the UAE where they will lock horns with the likes of India, Pakistan and New Zealand in Group 2.