Indian Premier League suspended by BCCI

MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League (IPL)  has been suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday for one week amid the rising regional situation between Pakistan and India, according to a statement issued by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.

The decision was made after meetings with the IPL Governing Council, franchise representatives, broadcasters, sponsors, and security advisers. “The Board considered it prudent to act in the collective interest of all stakeholders,” Saikia said to the crowd.

Franchises began to disband quickly after the news, with players and staff planning early departures. According to the statement, a new schedule will be released following additional evaluation in conjunction with the authorities. All participants agreed that continuing the competition under the existing circumstances was not viable.

The suspension will be a big blow for a Reliance-Disney joint venture that owns the broadcast rights to the matches, as well as hundreds of other firms that have committed millions of dollars in advertising.

Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had officially announced that the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL X) will be shifted to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the prevailing situation in the country.

As per the PCB press release, the matches, which were initially slated to take place in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Multan, have been rescheduled in reaction to what the PCB called India’s “dangerous and irresponsible” conduct of targeting the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.