Bengaluru, March 21: English cricket fans will not be able to watch their star players like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler in action as Sky Sports channel confirmed that it will not broadcast Indian Premier League (IPL) matches live.

The cash-rich tournament begins on Saturday (March 23) with the blockbuster tie between champions Chennai Super Kings and Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai.

Last year, Sky Sports had signed an agreement with Star India as a result of which the IPL matches were shown live in England.

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But this time, Star India will exploit the rights themselves, according to a statement from Sky.

Hey Ricky, It has been confirmed that Star India will make use of the rights themselves this year so Sky will not be covering IPL in 2019 on Sky Sports Cricket unfortunately. Thanks ^CK

— Sky Help Team (@SkyHelpTeam) March 19, 2019

"It has been confirmed that Star India will exploit the rights themselves this year. So Sky will not be covering the IPL cricket in 2019," a Sky Sports statement said.

The company's online streaming service -- Hotstar -- will continue to beam the live action though.

IPL telecast banned in Pakistan

Meanwhile, the Pakistan government has decided to impose a ban on the telecast of IPL matches in the country following escalation in relations between the two neighbouring countries.

It may be recalled that India had terminated broadcast of Pakistan Super League matches in the country after the Pulwama attack.