Pakistan postpones remaining PSL cricket fixtures as IPL suspends league for a week
The remaining eight fixtures of the PSL have been postponed indefinitely, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Friday, a day after announcing the league would be relocating to the UAE. The PCB said "the last 24 hours have seen a worsening of the situation" as crossborder fire escalated between Islamabad and New Delhi. Pakistan's military said on Friday it "will not de-escalate" from soaring tensions with its neighbour as both sides reported heavy exchanges of artillery fire and drone attacks. "The decision to postpone has been taken pursuant to advice received from the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif," the PCB said in a statement. "The PCB and its players stand resolutely in solidarity with the families of the martyrs and our security personnel defending the nation." The tenth edition of the PSL Involved 37 foreign players including from England, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies and South Africa. There were eight matches remaining in the six-team PSL, including the play-offs and the final scheduled for May 18. Earlier on Friday, India's cricket board said it had suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament for one week. Indian board members were particularly concerned about the safety of players and whether it was appropriate for such events to take place during the conflict. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said it had consulted "key stakeholders" including franchisees, broadcaster and sponsors, before taking the decision. "While the BCCI reposes full faith in the strength and preparedness of our armed forces, the Board considered it prudent to act in the collective interest of all stakeholders," the statement added. In a statement, the IPL confirmed that updates regarding a new schedule and venues will be announced in due course. The suspension would take place "with immediate effect for one week," the IPL added in a social media post. The process of facilitating the departures of overseas players from India has already begun. The Press Association reported that a number of English players have already left the country. Tom Moffat, the chief executive of the World Cricketers' Association, told the PA news agency: 'It has been concerning to see the situation unfold in India and Pakistan and we hope that the situation de-escalates as soon as possible. 'Cricket is secondary to the health and safety of the people in both countries, including the players competing in the IPL and PSL. 'WCA and our member associations have been in regular contact with impacted players and assisting with advice to help with their individual decisions, supported by our expert security consultants. 'We are pleased both events have acted on concerns raised.' The suspension will come as a setback for a Reliance-Disney joint venture which has broadcast rights for the matches, and also scores of companies that have committed millions of dollars for advertising. The suspension means the Indian cricket board and team franchisees will lose some revenues which are linked to match days. India and Pakistan have been locked in conflict since Wednesday, when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, saying they were "terrorist infrastructure", following a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir last month. New Delhi named two Pakistani nationals as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe. India's army said Pakistan's armed forces carried out "multiple attacks" using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early Friday, a claim Pakistan denied. This season's IPL tournament began on March 22, and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues around the country. Thursday's IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting broke out in India's border regions. The cricket board attributed that disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala. After striking the $8.5-billion media merger with Walt Disney last year, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance was targeting small businesses and promoting unconventional neuroscience studies to boost its revenues from the IPL.
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