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The England and Wales Cricket Board is open to hosting the remainder of the Indian Premier League in September after escalating cross-border tension between India and Pakistan prompted the suspension of the world’s most lucrative Twenty20 tournament on Friday.
In a chaotic 24 hours matches in both the IPL and the Pakistan Super League were cancelled or abandoned, schedules torn up and foreign players told to start packing and book flights home. The Pakistan Cricket Board announced that the last eight fixtures of its tournament were being relocated to the United Arab Emirates, only for the Emirates Cricket Board apparently to reconsider its decision to host because it was “wary of being perceived as an ally of the PCB”, leading to that tournament also being suspended.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has so far confirmed only that the IPL has been paused for a week. But with 16 games remaining and overseas players now in the process of flying to their respective home countries, its resumption is shrouded in doubt.
The Guardian understands that Richard Gould, the chief executive of the ECB, has already reached out to his equivalents at the BCCI offering his support. Should India be unable to restart the IPL after this week-long hiatus, one suggestion is for England to host the remaining fixtures later in the year.
A senior ECB source has confirmed this could be possible in September, albeit adding that no “active discussions” are currently taking place. A similar offer from English cricket came in 2021 when the IPL was paused by the Covid-19 pandemic, though the UAE eventually served as stand-in hosts.
The decision to halt the IPL followed the abandonment of Thursday’s fixture between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala midway through its first innings after a military base in Pathankot, about 80 kilometres away, was targeted by what Indian officials described as “missiles and drones”. Floodlights were turned off and fans asked to leave while the players and staff of the two teams were rushed away from the ground, some still wearing their pads. Dharamsala is one of 27 Indian airports currently closed because of security concerns, forcing the teams to stay until Friday morning before travelling to Delhi by train.
“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 BCCI secretary, said in a statement, adding the decision had been taken “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”.
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. IPL seasons have been fully or partially relocated on four previous occasions: in 2009 it was played in South Africa because of a clash with Indian elections; in 2014 a similar issue meant the first 20 matches were played in the UAE; in 2020 Indian lockdown rules pushed it back to the UAE and in 2021 the second half of the tournament was also played there, again because of Covid.
The option of relocating to the UAE appeared to be off the table following the PCB’s announcement that its tournament was to conclude there. The PSL’s suspension came after Thursday’s 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 that was described by Mohsin Naqvi, chair of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), as “extremely irresponsible” and “reckless”.
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But on Friday night the Indian news agency PTI reported the Emirates Cricket Board had decided not to endanger local security, or its relationship with the BCCI, by appearing to favour Pakistan. “The UAE has a diverse South Asian population which enjoys cricket. Hosting a tournament like the PSL in the midst of such tense circumstances could vitiate harmony, pose security risks and stir unnecessary friction between communities,” a source told PTI.
Hours after the PCB announced that the tournament would move to the UAE it released a fresh statement saying that following advice from the country’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, it would instead be paused. “National attention and sentiments are rightly focused on the courageous efforts of the armed forces who are vociferously upholding the sovereignty of our beloved Pakistan,” it wrote. “We also have sincere regard for the mental wellbeing of participating players and the sentiments of our foreign playersand wWe respect the concerns of their families who want to see them back home.”
Seven English players are involved in the PSL and 10 in the IPL, all of whom are expected to return home over the weekend.
