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Mint
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Mint
Alyssa Healy's first-hand experience after PBKS vs DC called off in Dharamshala; ‘Faf didn't have shoes…we had no idea'
Mitchell Starc's wife Alyssa Healy described the fateful night of May 8 in Dharamshala as 'surreal experience' after the Indian Premier League (IPL) clash between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium was called off midway. Healy, who herself is the captain of the Australian women's national cricket team, has been travelling across India with Starc. She also plays for UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League (WPL). Batting first, Punjab Kings were 122/1 after 10.1 overs when the one of the floodlights went off. Soon after two more were switched off too. At first, it looked like a floodlight malfunction, but in reality it was due to the air sirens because of the India-Pakistan border tension. Immediately, a blackout was ordered in Dharamshala as the whole stadium was evacuated. The players of both teams and the match officials along with the broadcast crew were also told to return to their hotels soon after. Healy, who was in the stands along with family members of other Delhi Capitals players, narrated how things unfolded on that night. 'It was a surreal experience,' Healy continued on the The Willow Talk Podcast. "All of a sudden a couple of the light towers went out and we were just sitting there up the top waiting… we're a large group of family and extra support staff and the next minute the guy who wrangles the group of us and gets us on the bus came up and his face was white." The wicketkeeper batter also mentioned that Delhi Capitals' South African import Faf du Plessis didn't had his shoes on when all these things happened. It was Starc who informed her about the drone sightings and air-raid warning nearby. "He was like, 'we need to go right now'. Then another guy came out and his face was white and he grabbed one of the children and said, 'we need to leave right now'. We were like, 'what's going on?' We weren't told anything. We had no idea. Next minute we are being shuffled into this room which was like a holding pen. All the boys were in there. "Faf du Plessis didn't even have shoes on. We were all just waiting there, looking stressed. I said to Mitch, 'what's going on?' He said the town 60km away had just been smacked by some of the missiles so there was a complete blackout in the area. "That's why the lights were off because the Dharamsala stadium was like a beacon at that point in time. All of a sudden we're crammed into vans and off we go back to the hotel. There was madness," she added.
India Gazette
10-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
England considering hosting remainder of IPL 2025 if approached by BCCI
New Delhi [India] May 10 (ANI): England might consider organising Indian Premier League (IPL) games if the England and Wales Cricket Board is approached by Indian and global cricket bodies seeking assistance to finish the tournament, reported Sky Sports. The IPL still has 12 matches to be played in the group stage before a knockout stage featuring four play-off matches. Conversations regarding the tournament's conclusion are currently taking place in India. Shifting games to England would pose challenges because of the busy timetables of both domestic and international competitions. On Friday afternoon, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its decision to suspend the remainder of the ongoing IPL 2025, with immediate effect, for one week due to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. The match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala was called off midway through the first innings on Thursday. Spectators were informed of the cancellation and asked to vacate the premises, while both teams were escorted back to their hotel. 'At this critical juncture, the BCCI stands firmly with the nation. We express our solidarity with the Government of India, the Armed Forces, and the people of our country. The Board salutes the bravery, courage, and selfless service of our armed forces, whose heroic efforts under Operation Sindoor continue to protect and inspire the nation, as they lead a resolute response to the recent terrorist attack and the unwarranted aggression by Pakistan's armed forces. While cricket remains a national passion, there is nothing greater than the Nation and its sovereignty, integrity, and security of our country. The BCCI remains firmly committed to support all efforts that safeguard India and will always align its decisions in the best interest of the nation,' a statement from the board said. Sanjay Sharma, a member of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), told ANI, 'Because of the tension between India and Pakistan, yesterday's match played between Punjab and Delhi was called off in the middle due to security reasons. But because there was a possibility that something like this could have happened, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, the Punjab Kings franchisee, and all the operations staff were already in touch with the administration. The administration was fully aware of this.' Later in the day, the inaugural edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic 2025, which was set to be held on May 24 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, was postponed until further notice due to rising tensions between the two neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, four airbases in Pakistan were hit by Indian strikes in the early hours of today, sources told ANI as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate. India launched the retaliatory strikes immediately after Pakistan attacked 26 locations across India, the sources said. In its statement, the Ministry of Defence said, 'Drones have been sighted at 26 locations along the International Border and Loc with Pakistan. These include suspected armed drones. The locations include Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota, Jammu, Ferozpur, Pathankot, Fazilka, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala. (ANI)
The Guardian
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
The IPL is a good barometer in India: its suspension shows us how serious this is
It's not often that two sets of people find themselves in the same situation on either side of one of the world's most fractious borders. When Friday dawned, amid swirling rumours of missiles wrecking neighbourhoods and falsehoods about pilots being captured, cricketers in India and Pakistan sensed that something was about to give. The Pakistan Super League acted first, telling all its players, coaches and officials to stay in their hotel rooms, bags packed at the ready. At some point in the day the call would come, they were told, and they should be ready to head to the airport and fly to the United Arab Emirates where the last eight games of that tournament would be held. In India, the first signs of just how precarious the situation had become emerged the previous evening when a match between the Delhi Capitals and the Punjab Kings was interrupted after 10.1 overs when the floodlights went off in Dharamsala. Initially a technical failure was thought to be the problem, but when senior officials of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association walked out on to the field to urge the crowd to disperse calmly, the penny dropped. On advice of security agencies and the state government, the powers that be that run cricket were told in no uncertain terms that this show must not go on. About 200 kilometres away in Jammu drone attacks and missile strikes were foiled, air raid sirens sounded and the city was thrown into a complete blackout. In the end, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced that the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League was suspended for a week, and a further decision on whether the tournament would resume, be played later in the year or moved to another country would be taken then. At the same time though, logistics teams at the IPL franchises were scrambling to figure out how to get overseas players back to their countries pronto. 'Look, even if it resumes in a week, the players can come back. For the moment, their safety and mental comfort is the most important thing to us,' an official from the Delhi Capitals said, declining to be named as the situation was in flux. 'We are looking at charter flights, commercial airlines, all options. Ultimately the players will take the call but I'm sure they are waiting for advisories from their respective countries.' There were 12 league matches plus the playoffs and final remaining to be played in the IPL when it was suspended. While it may appear that this was the most obvious thing to do, given the insignificance of a cricket tournament in the larger scheme of things, the IPL is actually an unusually accurate barometer of the state of affairs in India. The IPL chairman, Arun Singh Dhumal, is the brother of Anurag Thakur, the former BCCI secretary and politician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and has served variously as union minister for sport, information and broadcasting and finance. The most recent BCCI secretary and current International Cricket Council head, Jay Shah, is the son of Amit Shah, the minister for Home Affairs. This overlap and proximity of politics and cricket ensures that the IPL is acutely aware of what the situation on the ground really is and how quickly things might escalate or de-escalate. Aside from the obvious security threats, those involved with the IPL have the pulse of the nation. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion The preponderance of probabilities: the physical danger to those involved, the sentiment of the largest segment of the audience and the jitters that sponsors felt at being involved with something that could backfire badly, should something untoward happen, meant that the IPL had to be suspended. This decision shows that the IPL has learned from when it played out for far too long in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when there were no hospital beds to be had and crematoriums were running out of wood to burn, this garish festival of cricket and excess continued until the public could take it no more and a groundswell of negative reactions forced the hand of administrators. To halt a tournament of this scale is not a decision taken lightly, given the wide range of stakeholders. From those who directly benefit, the players, the broadcasters, the support staff, to the wider cricket ecosystem that hits its annual targets in two months of competition, there is so much riding on the IPL that even suspending it temporarily leaves thousands out of pocket. But the time had come when it was no longer a matter of inconvenience or commerce. Even the IPL does not play on when it's a matter of life or death.
NDTV
09-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
"Everything Was Handled Smoothly": HPCA Member Sanjay Sharma On Fans Being Evacuated During PBKS vs DC Clash
Sanjay Sharma, member of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), mentioned that the Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals match of the Indian Premier League 2025 in Dharamshala was called off mid-way due to security concerns stemming from tensions between India and Pakistan. "Because of the tension between India and Pakistan, yesterday's match played between Punjab and Delhi was called off in the middle due to security reasons. But because there was a possibility that something like this could have happened, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, Punjab Kings franchise, and all the operations staff were already in touch with the administration. The administration was fully aware of this," Sanjay Sharma told ANI. Sharma also spoke about the preparations by Dharamshala police administration to deal with this situation. "The police administration had made extensive preparations for this. And the franchise also made extensive preparations for how to deal with this situation. Because of this, when the match was postponed, everything was handled smoothly without any unpleasant incident," he added. On Thursday night's unfortunate incident at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium, where the highly anticipated match between PBKS and DC was called off. Spectators were informed of the cancellation and asked to vacate the premises, while both teams were escorted back to their hotel. Soon after, Punjab Kings confirmed the development through their official social media handle, posting, "Match has been called off." After the match was called off, the fans were seen coming out of the stadium with chants of 'Pakistan murdabad' the stoppage of play, the PBKS side were 122/1 in 10.1 overs, with Prabhsimran Singh (50*) and Shreyas Iyer (0*) unbeaten on the crease. Meanwhile, The Board Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced the suspension of the ongoing Indian Premier League(IPL), sources said. The tournament had entered the decisive stage with the Final scheduled for May 25.
India Gazette
09-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
"Because of the tension between India and Pakistan, match was called off": HPCA member Sanjay Sharma on PBKS vs DC clash
Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India] May 9 (ANI): Sanjay Sharma member of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), mentioned that the Punjab Kings vs. Delhi Capitals match of the Indian Premier League 2025 in Dharamshala was called off mid-way due to security concerns stemming from tensions between India and Pakistan. 'Because of the tension between India and Pakistan, yesterday's match played between Punjab and Delhi was called off in the middle due to security reasons. But because there was a possibility that something like this could have happened, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, Punjab Kings franchisee, and all the operations staff were already in touch with the administration. The administration was fully aware of this,' Sanjay Sharma told ANI. Sharma also spoke about the preparations by Dharamshala police administration to deal with this situation. 'The police administration had made extensive preparations for this. And the franchise also made extensive preparations for how to deal with this situation. Because of this, when the match was postponed, everything was handled smoothly without any unpleasant incident,' he added. On Thursday night's unfortunate incident at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium, where the highly anticipated match between PBKS and DC was called off. Spectators were informed of the cancellation and asked to vacate the premises, while both teams were escorted back to their hotel. Soon after, Punjab Kings confirmed the development through their official social media handle, posting, 'Match has been called off.' After the match was called off, the fans were seen coming out of the stadium with chants of 'Pakistan murdabad' the stoppage of play, the PBKS side were 122/1 in 10.1 overs, with Prabhsimran Singh (50*) and Shreyas Iyer (0*) unbeaten on the crease. Meanwhile, The Board Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced the suspension of the ongoing Indian Premier League(IPL), sources said. The tournament had entered the decisive stage with the Final scheduled for May 25. (ANI)
