Cricket fans across Afghanistan have welcomed the news that this year’s TATA IPL 2022 Season will be broadcast live on Ariana Television after ATN secured broadcasting rights of this exciting annual cricket tournament.

Securing the rights to broadcast this year’s tournament is yet another achievement for ATN, which continues to bring world class events to Afghanistan for the public to enjoy in the comfort of their own home.

This year’s tournament will run from March 26 (Saturday) to May 29 and all matches will be held in Mumbai and Pune.

According to the IPL Governing Council, key decisions regarding this year’s IPL were made recently at a meeting given concerns about the spread of COVID-19.

“The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League will be played in a bio-secure environment at a single hub to avoid air travel which is considered as a major threat for the spread of COVID-19 infection, thereby affecting the players and the League/matches,” IPL Governing Council said in a recent statement.

The council also stated that the 10 teams will play a total of 14 league matches followed by the four playoff matches.

Each team will play five teams twice and the remaining four teams only once.

Afghans meanwhile welcomed the news that they will be able to watch the tournament live.

Zalmai Hussain, a Kabul resident, said: “This is good news for us cricket fans. We welcome Ariana Television’s decision. IPL is always very exciting to watch.”

Another Kabul resident, Khalid Takal said: “The Afghan cricket fans enjoy watching the cricket matches live on TV. They enjoy watching matches on a big screen together with their friends, families, and colleagues.

“While watching matches on TV, they share their feelings and views about their favorite players or teams. They enjoy exchanging their ideas and feelings about their favorite teams and players while watching matches live on TV.”

Takal said despite matches being broadcast live on social media, “Afghans still prefer to watch matches on TV since they do not have access to high-speed internet.

He said “it means a lot for them to watch matches live on TV. In addition, Afghans are poor people and they can’t afford internet packages to watch matches live on social media – particularly on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Therefore, TV is the best option for Afghan cricket fans to watch matches live.”