India’s cricket board has suspended the money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament amid rising tensions between Pakistan and India.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) put off the 2025 IPL “with immediate effect for one week” in the wake of ongoing situation with Pakistan, according to a statement by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia on Friday.
The decision was made following consultations involving the IPL Governing Council, franchise representatives, broadcasters, sponsors, and security advisors. “The Board considered it prudent to act in the collective interest of all stakeholders,” Saikia said.
Franchises began disbanding shortly after the announcement, with players and staff booking early departures. A revised schedule will be shared after further assessment in coordination with the authorities, according to the statement. All participants agreed that continuing the tournament under current conditions was not viable.
Thursday’s IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting began in India’s border regions, but the cricket board attributed the disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala.
The world’s richest cricket tournament began its current season on March 22, and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues across the country.
The nuclear-armed neighbours have been locked in conflict since Wednesday, when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, claiming they were “terrorist infrastructure” in response to a deadly attack in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir last month.
New Delhi accused Islamabad of being involved in the Pahalgam attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe.
Pakistan responded to the Indian airstrikes with heavy artillery fire and both sides accused each other on Thursday of carrying out waves of drone attacks.