The Indian Premier League (IPL) was on Friday suspended indefinitely due to the escalating military confrontation between India and Pakistan with a BCCI official saying that continuing the event in the current situation would not look appropriate.
A cloud of uncertainty had loomed over the future of the ongoing edition since the cancellation of Thursday's match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala midway following air raid alerts in neighbouring cities of Jammu and Pathankot.
"It does not look nice that cricket goes on while the country is at war," a BCCI official told PTI, confirming the suspension of the high-profile league, which was to wind up on May 25 in Kolkata as per the original schedule.
An indefinite suspension means the Board would look to conduct the remaining matches at an opportune time but the details of that plan would emerge only after the conflict de-escalates.
Twelve league matches and four knockout games are left to be played.
India launched missile attacks on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir a fortnight after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.
On Thursday, a blackout was enforced in several districts in India including Pathankot, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Mohali in Punjab and Union Territory Chandigarh amid air raid alarms and reports of explosion-like sounds in Jammu.
The military confrontation had caused significant anxiety among the foreign players, according to league sources and they will be flying back over the next few days. Sixty two overseas players were signed up by the 10 franchises at the mega-auction last year.
"The players are doing well but of course there is concern among them after seeing all that has happened," an IPL team official told PTI when asked about the foreign players' state of of mind.
The players of Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings are currently on their way to the national capital from Dharamsala by road.
On Friday, the IPL bandwagon was in Lucknow for the game between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which now stands suspended.
"Nation first," posted LSG on its official social media page after the league's suspension.
In Sydney, Cricket Australia stated that it was closely monitoring the situation in both India and Pakistan, which shifted its flagship Pakistan Super League (PSL) to the UAE early this morning owing to the Indian military action.
New Zealand's players association had also expressed concerns about the security scenario in India and Pakistan due to the ongoing conflict.
Earlier in the day, the Pakistan Super League was moved to the UAE after Indian drone attacks in Lahore and Rawalpindi among other cities.
Pakistan's Cricket Board has called an emergency meeting to discuss whether the ongoing Pakistan Super League, which features a number of foreign players, should be halted.
The T20 league, which features six franchises and is in its final stages, is currently being staged in Rawalpindi. It is scheduled to wind up on May 18 in Lahore.
A reliable source in the Board said the PCB would follow the advice from the government on continuing the league and it would be holding discussions later on Thursday.
"The meeting will review the situation because of the number of drone attacks by India since Wednesday especially in the Punjab province," the source said.
PSL CEO Salman Naseer also met with the overseas players in Rawalpindi and assured them that they had nothing to worry about as the PCB is closely monitoring the situation.
Some of the big international names who have signed up for the league are David Warner (Karachi Kings), Jason Holder (Islamabad United), and Rassie van der Dussen (Islamabad United) among others.
"Naturally the current scenario may have come under discussion.The players have been given a heavy security blanket by the Pakistan Army," PCB spokesperson Amir Mir said.
"There have been surgical strikes on both sides of the border but we don't expect that to affect the PSL. But if, God forbid, things do escalate, we will sit together to decide our next step," he added.
After successful missile attacks on nine locations in Pakistan to dismantle terror infrastructure, India on Thursday said it foiled attempts by the Pakistani military to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India using drones and missiles.
The country's defence forces also destroyed a Pakistani air defence system in Lahore, officials said on Thursday.
The Pakistani military attempted to target Awantipura, Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Nal, Phalodi, Uttarlai, and Bhuj, they said.
