Pakistan cricket legend Shoaib Akhtar’s YouTube channel couldn’t be accessed in India on Monday morning. This comes shortly after India banned several Pakistani accounts. Though Akhtar’s account isn’t in the official list, fans couldn’t find his channel on YouTube while searching on the website or app. Though old videos from the account could still be viewed on YouTube, the channel itself is no longer accessible. Shoaib Akhtar remains one of the most followed Pakistan cricket celebrities in India. He has often been a part of cricketing discussions on different sports and media outlets over the last few years.

The former Pakistan pacer’s account isn’t the only one to have been restricted in India, with fans unable to access the YouTube channels of the country’s former cricketers like Rashid Latif and Basit Ali too. These accounts are also not part of the official list, yet, their visibility in India has been restricted.

While some of the accounts, which are part of the official list of banned channels released by the government of India, are fully suspended, the old videos of some are still accessible on YouTube. It isn’t yet clear whether Shoaib Akhtar’s channel was mistakenly missed or it is a part of a new list which could be released soon. 

Many Pakistan youtube channels blocked in India, including Shoaib Akhtar, Wasay and Iffi pic.twitter.com/cu9aPigwqJ

— Dr Gill (@ikpsgill1) April 28, 2025

The decision to ban certain YouTube accounts in India was taken following recommendations from the Ministry of Home Affairs in the wake of the April 22 terror attack at Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.

The government has also sent a formal letter to BBC over it terming terrorists “militants” in its reportage on the Pahalgam tragedy.

“On the recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government of India has banned Pakistani YouTube channels for disseminating provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies in the backdrop of the tragic Pahalgam terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir,” officials said.

The YouTube channels that have been confirmed to be blocked are: Dawn News, Irshad Bhatti, SAMAA TV, ARY NEWS, BOL NEWS, Raftar, The Pakistan Reference, Geo News, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, SUNO News and Razi Naama.

With PTI Inputs