Dharamsala match called off; IPL awaits govt directive

In a dramatic turn of events, the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was called off midway in Dharamsala as heavy shelling was reported in the border areas amid ongoing military tension between India and Pakistan.

With the situation on the border tense, a call on whether the remainder of the tournament will go ahead is contingent on government advice. Senior office bearers of the BCCI were locked in discussions over a conference call on Thursday night.

“We are reviewing the situation right now. It is an evolving situation. We haven’t received any directive from the government yet. Obviously the decision will be taken keeping all the logistics in mind,” IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal told PTI.

Asked about Friday’s game in Lucknow, he said: “Yes, it is on as of now but obviously it is an evolving situation and any decision will be taken keeping the best interest of all stakeholders in mind.”

The situation began to unfold at around 9:30PM local time when one of the four floodlights went off. It initially seemed as though it was a technical issue and the players hung around in the middle. But then the players and umpires started making their way back to the dressing room and the remaining floodlights began to be switched off one by one. The spectators were asked to vacate the HPCA Stadium in a calm manner.

Dhumal was seen asking the fans to leave as news emerged of heavy firing across multiple air strikes from Pakistan.

“As a precautionary measure the match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharmshala will not continue. Players have been asked to go indoors, and the crowd is being evacuated,” Dhumal told HT.

Officials in the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association said the missile attacks on Jammu and neighbouring areas prompted the precautionary measure.

Both teams, it has been learned, were safely taken to the team hotel as the blackout was initiated in Dharamsala.

A popular tourist destination, the hill town is less than a 1,000 kilometres from India’s border that has witnessed heightened military action. The BCCI is making plans to arrange for a special train from Una railway station to Delhi on Friday morning for players from both sides, PBKS and DC, match officials as well as commentators and broadcast crew who were in Dharmshala.

After the match was abandoned, the crowd was evacuated and players taken to safety. Both the teams staying in the same hotel were given a collective briefing on the steps being taken for their safety.

Earlier on Thursday, the Punjab Kings-Mumbai Indians IPL match scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Dharmsala was shifted to Ahmedabad. The shift was necessitated after closure of Dharmsala airport for passenger flights following a government directive. “The venue change has been necessitated due to logistical challenges,” a BCCI statement said.

The PBKS-MI match will continue to remain a home game for Punjab. The Ticket sale process is already underway and PBKS will keep the gate money. Sunday being a double header day, the match will be played in the afternoon as scheduled.

Mumbai was mooted as an alternative venue for the match. That would have meant PBKS having to concede home advantage to their opponents. More importantly, it wasn’t the most practical move as Mumbai has been hit by unseasonal rains.

On the afternoon of April 22, a group of heavily armed terrorists emerged from the woods and targeted tourists on the Baisaran grassland, killing 26 people.

Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba’s proxy, The Resistance Front (TRF), initially claimed responsibility for the attack that coincided with US vice president JD Vance’s visit to India.

New Delhi has since identified three Pakistani terrorists and tracked their digital footprints to underline Islamabad’s role in the attack. Over the last two weeks, tensions spiralled across the LoC and the international border as Pakistan has flagrantly violated a ceasefire by targeting the Indian side at numerous sites with small-arms fire.

India on Wednesday carried out precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure at nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack.