Foreign cricketers head home as India-Pakistan tension disrupts world's biggest T20 league

The military tension between India and Pakistan has put the biggest Twenty20 cricket league in the world on hold while another one has been suspended for indefinite period.

The lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) was suspended for one week on Friday while the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was postponed less than 24 hours after the Pakistan Cricket Board had announced it would try to move the remaining eight games of the league to Dubai.

Leading foreign cricketers on both sides of the border have already started leaving for their respective countries and the Board of Control for Cricket in India is yet to announce the revised schedule.

There were reports in Indian media on Saturday that IPL organisers have shortlisted three southern cities — Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad — to host the remaining 16 games, provided it gets Indian government approval to resume.

The packed international cricket schedule could see some of the leading foreign players miss the remaining IPL games if the league extends beyond its scheduled May 25 final.

The IPL is the most popular cricket tournament in the world and runs between March and May. This year it has featured 65 international cricketers from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and Afghanistan.

Several dozen foreign cricketers who weren’t picked in the IPL auction were drafted into the PSL, which was due to end May 18.

The decision to postpone IPL on Friday came after a night of artillery exchanges between Indian and Pakistani soldiers across their frontier in Kashmir, amid a growing military standoff that erupted following an attack on tourists in the India-controlled portion of the disputed region.

On Friday night and Saturday, overseas cricketers and broadcast staff were given permission to fly out to their respective home countries, reducing the chance that the tournament would be resumed. There about 70 overseas players in the IPL this season.

The BCCI said the decision to suspend the tournament was made "in the collective interest of all stakeholders.”

"While cricket remains a national passion, there is nothing greater than the nation and its sovereignty, integrity, and security of our country,” the BCCI statement said.

The suspension came after the match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala in northern India was abandoned Thursday evening when the power went out during a government-mandated blackout. Players from both teams returned by train late Friday to New Delhi.

Punjab’s next game against Mumbai Indians had already been moved from Dharamsala to Mumbai because of the closure of several airports in the Indian northwestern corridor.

In Pakistan, foreign players were flown out of Islamabad in a special chartered flight hours before both countries were engaged in missile and drone attacks on each other’s military bases in the most serious confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades.

On Thursday, an Indian drone fell inside the complex of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium hours before the start of a PSL game in which several cricketers from New Zealand, Australia, West Indies, South Africa and England were due to compete.

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also interior minister in the Pakistan government, held meetings with foreign cricketers and six franchise owners of the PSL before initially saying the tournament was being moved to Dubai before suspending it.

"Cricket, while being a unifying force and a source of joy, must take a respectful pause,” the PCB said in a statement.

The PCB said it acted on advice from Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The PCB had earlier confirmed the relocation of eight remaining PSL matches to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, citing growing concerns among overseas players and the need to prioritize their safety. But the latest announcement said the PSL was being postponed and gave no indication whether this year’s edition would resume at some point.

England cricketer Sam Billings, New Zealand’s Colin Munro, South African Rilee Rossouw and Jason Holder of West Indies were among 43 foreign cricketers competing in the PSL.

"We have sincere regard for the mental well-being of participating players and the sentiments of our foreign players, and we respect the concerns of their families who want to see them back home,” the PCB said.

Associated Press