The top brass of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently huddled in a meeting, presumably online, to deliberate on the future of the ongoing IPL 2025 season.
Following the suspension of a match in Dharamsala on Thursday (May 8) and growing concerns among overseas players, we understand that all options are on the table, including suspending the tournament for the time being.
“We should hear something definitive today. Under the circumstances, whether to continue with the league is topmost point on the agenda,” an informed source said.
There are multiple points in consideration. Should the IPL be suspended, what sort of a message will that convey? If it continues, what would be the optics, especially amidst heightened border tensions? Relocating matches to safer cities in the south and east is also believed to be an option.
Major concerns:
One of the key challenges for the IPL is managing the concerns of foreign players, who are believed to be getting restive with each passing day and convincing them to stay could be challenging.
The IPL chairman and the BCCI vice-president, who spoke to the media, have indicated that all options are open but did not exactly say whether Friday night’s game between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will go ahead. Even the Thursday’s match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals has not been officially abandoned.
The BCCI is treading carefully to manage the situation. In its bid to transport all involved in the IPL, including teams, players, broadcast crews and other league staff from Dharamsala to New Delhi, utmost secrecy is being maintained. Those involved were told to board the bus at their hotels in Dharamsala but they have not been told where they will board the train to Delhi from. At the time of writing this, they’re in the bus with no information of the exact destination.
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