England cricket stars are scrambling to fly back to the UK following the suspension of the Indian Premier League due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan.
Thursday’s IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capital in Dharamsala was abandoned midway through the first innings, with organisers citing a power outage after floodlights at the stadium went down.
There are 12 games remaining in the competition’s league phase followed by play-offs which were scheduled to conclude on 25 May.
But the league is now on hold for at least a week.
10 England players play in the IPL in Jos Buttler of Gujarat Titans, Jofra Archer of Rajasthan Royals, Moeen Ali of Kolkata Knight Riders, Will Jacks of Mumbai Indians, Jamie Overton and Sam Curran of Chennai Super Kings and Jacob Bethell, Phil Salt, Reece Topley and Liam Livingstone of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
They are now ‘finalising arrangements’ to return to England as soon as possible, the Telegraph report.
It follows the decision made by the Pakistan Super League to move the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates after a drone fell within the limits of its Rawalpindi Stadium complex.
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‘The remainder of ongoing IPL 2025 suspended with immediate effect for one week,’ a statement said.
‘The decision was taken by the IPL Governing Council after due consultation with all key stakeholders 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.’
Pakistan has denied Indian accusations it has attacked military bases amid the growing conflict between the two neighbours.
Pakistan authorities meanwhile claim 31 people have been killed and 57 injured by Indian air strikes since Wednesday morning.
India’s Headquarters of the Integrated Defence Staff, a central coordinating arm for all Indian armed forces, said military stations in Jammu, Udhampur and Pathankot were targeted by Pakistan using missiles and drones. It said the attacks were repelled and no casualties were reported.
Shesh Paul Vaid, the region’s former director-general of police, said the Jammu Airport likely was also under attack and that some of the 50 loud explosions he heard likely were because ‘our defence system is at work’.
Jammu and Udhampur are close to the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. Pathankot is in India’s Punjab state.