The Indian Premier League has been suspended, initially for a week, because of concerns about the security situation in the country amid rising tensions along its border with Pakistan. The news came hours after the decision was taken to relocate the final fixtures in the Pakistan Super League to United Arab Emirates because of safety concerns. Foreign-based players in India and all teams in Pakistan are expected to leave the countries over the next 24 hours.
“Further updates regarding the new schedule and venues of the tournament will be announced in due course after a comprehensive assessment of the situation in consultation with relevant authorities and stakeholders,” Devajit Saikia, the secretary of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), said in a statement. “The decision was taken by the IPL governing council after due consultation with all key stakeholders following the representations from most of the franchisees, who conveyed the concern and sentiments of their players, and also the views of the broadcaster, sponsors and fans; while the BCCI reposes full faith in the strength and preparedness of our armed forces, the board considered it prudent to act in the collective interest of all stakeholders.”
Transport within India has been complicated by the closure of 27 airports over security concerns, including in the host city of Dharamsala. Thursday’s game there between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was abandoned after 10.1 overs, with the players and staff of the two teams rushed out of the ground. They mingled on each other’s coaches, with some still wearing their pads, before returning to Delhi by chartered train on Friday morning.
Thursday’s abandonment came with Mumbai Indians, who had been due to face Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on Sunday, already on their way and precipitated rapid negotiations in which the possibility of holding the fixture in Mumbai was discussed and rejected before the teams settled on the neutral venue of Ahmedabad. MI’s players duly travelled to Gujarat, where they learned of the league’s suspension, and their foreign-based players will now return to Mumbai to collect their belongings before returning home.
Dharamsala is about 80km from Pathankot, site of one of the three Indian military bases targeted by what officials described as “missiles and drones” on Thursday, leading to the decision to abandon the game. “It does not look nice that cricket goes on while the country is at war,” a BCCI official told the news agency PTI.
With 58 games played and 12 group-stage fixtures remaining, plus four playoff ties, the BCCI must now decide if and how to complete the competition. The option of relocating to the UAE – where the tournament was shifted when it was forced to shut down by the Covid outbreak of 2020 – is off the table because it is already set to host the PSL, but a move to South Africa is feasible, aided by the fact that all six teams in that country’s own franchise tournament, the SA20, are controlled by owners of IPL sides. The IPL was also moved to South Africa in 2009 when it coincided with Indian elections.
The last time the IPL was shut down, when Covid flared up again in 2021, it resumed and concluded in the UAE that September, and a resumption later this year, after the conclusion of India’s Test series in England, is possible. India are due to play six white-ball matches in Bangladesh in August followed by the eight-team Asia Cup in September, which they are due to host. Both are considered likely to be cancelled, opening a possible window for the IPL to resume in the middle of the English summer, clashing with the Hundred and the knockout stages of the T20 Blast.
Meanwhile Thursday’s PSL match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings was postponed amid claims that an Indian drone missile had damaged the area around the stadium in Rawalpindi where it was to be played, an attack which was described by Mohsin Naqvi, chair of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), as “extremely irresponsible” and “reckless”.
“The PCB has always stood by the position that politics and sports need to be kept apart,” Naqvi said in a statement. “However, in view of the extremely irresponsible and dangerous Indian act of targeting the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, which was manifestly done to disrupt the ongoing Pakistan Super League, the PCB has decided to shift the remaining matches to UAE so that the domestic as well as foreign cricketers, who are our precious guests, can be saved from the possible reckless targeting by India.
“As a responsible organisation that has overcome adversities repeatedly and ensured that the game of cricket flourishes, it was important for us to ensure the mental well-being of all players participating in the PSL. I regret that our domestic audience and cricket lovers will not be able to watch these matches in Pakistan’s stadiums.”
Ten English players are currently involved in the IPL: Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Phil Salt and Reece Topley. Seven are playing in the PSL: Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, James Vince, David Willey and Luke Wood.
