Cricket: IPL 2025 Suspended Amid Growing India-Pak Tensions
by Devesh Jaganath | by Cydias Aujard
BCCI Confirm One-Week IPL Suspension
The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed that the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League has been suspended for one week. The decision was made on Friday morning, stemming from the ongoing cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.
Tournament officials intervened during a match between the Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals on Thursday in Dharamsala, which is less than 200 kilometres away from the northern city of Jammu, where explosions were reported earlier the same day.
Due to a rain interruption, the match in Dharamsala started later than originally scheduled and was forced to be halted when the stadium’s floodlights went out. While the outage was initially believed to be nothing more than a technical issue, officials opted to stop the match, citing potential air raid alerts as the cause for concern.
A key contributor to the BCCI’s decision to suspend the tournament was the artillery exchanges between Indian and Pakistani soldiers in Kashmir the previous night, amid a growing military standoff following the attack on tourists in Pahalgam. The BCCI’s statement read:
“While cricket remains a national passion, there is nothing greater than the Nation and its sovereignty, integrity, and security of our country. 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.”
Since the announcement, teams have already begun disbanding, with local players and staff being escorted to safe locations, while international players have been flown out of the country until further notice.
The 2025 IPL season is currently 58 games in, meaning there are still 12 group-stage matches to go, followed by the Playoffs. It is understood that if the competition cannot be completed before India’s tour of England next month, this season may only be able to resume in September.
Pakistan Super League Plans Move to UAE
The day before the BCCI finalised their decision to suspend the IPL, it was revealed that the Pakistan Cricket Board had also made a big decision regarding the ongoing Pakistan Super League, opting to move the tournament to the UAE.
This came after a drone fell in the Rawalpindi Stadium complex, which Pakistan claims was from India. The incident occurred just hours before a match between the Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi was scheduled to take place at the venue.
However, the PSL has now been suspended indefinitely, after the Emirates Cricket Board declined to host the remainder of the tournament owing to security concerns and not wanting to risk their relationship with the BCCI.
At the time of writing, the PSL have not released a revised schedule for the rest of the matches this season, meaning the remainder of the season could be abandoned unless a suitable destination can be secured.
