IPL STOPPED: India vs Pak war forces IPL to be halted

It is a decision which should have been made earlier. Nevertheless, on Friday, the BCCI halted the IPL 2025 due to massive security concerns as the war between India and Pakistan is peaking. The last few weeks have been one of uncertainty and on Thursday night, the match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala saw chaos confounded.

With Jammu coming under from fire as Pakistan railed missiles, Dharamsala was also tense. To move out 300 people out from the stadium, from both teams and TV crews was a massive operation. As there were no flights, they had to be taken by road to one point and then put on a special Indian Railways train. Some of the videos posted on social media showed panic as people had to rush out of the arena. This was not the time for cricket but save their lives.

Truth be told, the IPL Governing Council should have halted the IPL on Thursday itself. It is learnt they wanted to consult the Central Government and then take a call on Friday. This is not the time to ask when the IPL can resume. How the teams will react is not debatable, since war has so many connotations. Safety is the first concern. No stadia in India can be treated as safe since rogue Pakistan can play dirty games.

Just to jog the readers’ memory, when the Pahalgam massacre of 27 innocents happened on April 22, the IPL should have taken a more serious note. Why, the IPL Governing Council should have immediately stopped the match between Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders in Lucknow. It was awful the IPL authorities allowed the match to take place even as India was in shock.

Butchering innocents was scary and even for the Lucknow match, safety should have become a big point. It was only on April 23, the IPL made players wear black bands between two teams when Mumbai Indians played Sunrisers Hyderabad. It is well known, the tense situation between India and Pakistan had been building up for almost two weeks.

The moment India had to secure its international border, the IPL should have been smore circumspect. Holding matches in North India, Jaipur and Ahmedabad should have been scrapped. The way ahead, nobody knows. This is not the time for cricket, since risk factor is high. Teams will need to cool down now.

To some fans and former cricketers, even on Thursday night, the IPL allowing a match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala was shocking. The BCCI and the IPL Governing Council are not inert that they do not know where Dharamsala is situated on the map. It is now a tense and full-blown war.

The IPL is exciting club cricket at best. Yes, people enjoy it but this is not the time to play sport when brave Indian Defence Forces officers and soldiers are safeguarding India. To play the IPL would have sent a wrong message as well.

Putting the IPL on hold is safe, for there is so much at stake. It is not like the Covid pandemic where you can play in a Bio Bubble. Even in 2020 and 2021, there were rumours the Bio Bubble was not foolproof. At that time, the IPL bosses wasted little time in shifting the event to Dubai. Again, it was for the sake of money.

For those who will calculate costs and losses of an extended IPL window, nothing can be done. This is unprecedented and national security becomes top priority. At a later date, if the situation improves, matches can be held at not more than three or four centres in South India. As of now, one has to keep fingers crossed.