The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) are looking to execute their plans of restarting IPL 2025 according to Times of India (TOI). The cricket league was called off yesterday due to the ongoing military escalation between India and Pakistan. Indian forces retaliated on May 7 after the terrorist attack by ‘The Resistance Front’, a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, on April 22.
According to the TOI report, BCCI is planning to resume the cricket tournament in the southern and eastern parts of India, if possible to resume in a week.
The TOI report mentioned a BCCI Source saying, “A week is a long time when it comes to such matters. The board is chalking out a contingency plan. But the initial feelers are that BCCI is considering the rest of the IPL matches in cities like Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru if the league resumes next week. If things de-escalate at the border, the board may also retain all the original venues.
The report also mentioned that the BCCI might delay the matches in the event of continuous escalation from both sides. In that case, the boards would look for vacant slots after the England tour, which is set to begin in June and end in August, later this year. Another crucial factor in the scenario would be the number of security forces that could be deployed.
If the IPL scenario does not go back to normalcy, it would be a concern for the upcoming Asia Cup in September and other fixtures scheduled later in the calendar. The Asia Cup is crucial as India will be the host country.
“There are doubts over the tour of Bangladesh due to the persisting communal unrest in the country. BCCI will wait for the government’s nod before sending its teams to Bangladesh. Asia Cup is losing its relevance anyway. India is supposed to host the Asia Cup this year. BCCI will have to seek the govt’s approval before inviting Pakistan,” the source shared.
In addition to this, BCCI will also have to ensure the safety of foreign players amid the security concerns due to the perpetual escalation of the military conflict of India and Pakistan.