Hours after announcing that the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was being shifted to the United Arab Emirates, the Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday (May 9, 2025) postponed the T20 tournament indefinitely owing to the ongoing military conflict with India.
Earlier in the day, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had suspended the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a week due to cross-border tension between the neighbouring nations.
"The decision to postpone has been taken pursuant to advice received from the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif," 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 cricket board added.
But a PTI report had earlier stated that the Emirates Cricket Board was unlikely to approve the PCB request to host the remainder of the PSL.
"In recent years, the Emirates Cricket Board has maintained a strong relationship with the BCCI, having hosted the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 'India' edition, multiple IPL seasons, and India바카라™s matches during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025," the report quoted a source within the Emirates Cricket Board as saying.
"The UAE has a diverse South Asian population which enjoys cricket. Hosting a tournament like the PSL in the midst of such tense circumstances could vitiate harmony, pose security risks and stir unnecessary friction between communities," the source added.
India attacked the terror infrastructure in Pakistan, a couple of weeks after 26 civilians, including a Nepalese citizen, were gunned downed by terrorists in Pahalgam - a popular tourist destination in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
(With PTI inputs)
