Recently, a claim has gone viral on social media outlets stating that ‘BCCI bans Bangladeshi players in IPL’.
Some Facebook posts with this claim can be found here (archive), here (archive), here (archive) , and here (archive).
Two X posts with this claim can be found here (archive), and here (archive).
Fact Check
The Rumor Scanner Team’s investigation has confirmed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not imposed a ban on Bangladeshi players in the IPL.
Extensive searches across national and Indian media outlets did not corroborate these claims. Additionally, the BCCI’s official website contains no information supporting this rumor.
However, a report from The Daily Ittefaq, dated March 26, discussed the challenges faced by Bangladeshi players in joining IPL 2023. It highlighted the conflict of schedules between the IPL and Bangladesh’s cricket series against Ireland. Bangladeshi cricketers Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das, and Mustafizur Rahman, selected for IPL teams, wished to participate in the IPL, bypassing the Test series against Ireland. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), however, was reluctant to issue a no-objection certificate unless they participated in the Test series. This situation led to speculation about a potential ‘shadow ban’ on Bangladeshi players in the IPL, particularly in some Indian media circles.
In a similar vein, a rumor in the Bengali language involved a falsified thumbnail mimicking the design of the Indian media outlet ABP Ananda. This thumbnail erroneously indicated that ABP Ananda had reported a ban on Bangladeshi players in the IPL. This claim was also debunked by the Rumor Scanner in their Bengali language fact-check article.
Bottom Line
The circulating claims about a BCCI-imposed ban on Bangladeshi players in the IPL are baseless. There is no official ban, and the rumors seem to have stemmed from misinterpretations and speculative media reports. The situation regarding Bangladeshi players’ participation in the IPL 2023 stems from a scheduling conflict with their national team commitments, not from any restrictive actions by the BCCI.
Hence, the rumor that the BCCI has banned Bangladeshi players from participating in the IPL is false.
Source
- Ittefaq Website: আইপিএলে ‘ছায়া নিষেধাজ্ঞার’ কবলে পড়তে পারে বাংলাদেশ! (ittefaq.com.bd)
- Rumor Scanner’s Own Analysis
