The 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) men's Twenty20 cricket tournament will get back underway, following an eight-day suspension, on Saturday (May 17).
The iconic, 10-team franchise league was suspended last Friday (May 9), due to the escalation of hostilities between neighbors India and Pakistan (which almost certainly caused the abandonment of an IPL fixture, midway through, in Dharamsala last Thursday) but will now recommence, following a ceasefire having come into effect over the weekend.
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The week-long suspension means that the tournament's final, originally due to be held on May 25, has now been pushed back to June 3. The resumption was unveiled by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier this week.
In total, 16 fixtures (including the post-season playoffs and final) were outstanding at the point when the tournament was suspended, and all 16 have now been rescheduled. They will be held across six cities – Bengaluru, Jaipur, Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai.
This means that three teams – the Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Punjab Kings – will not play at home for the rest of the tournament.
The BCCI governing body said in a statement: "After extensive consultations with government and security agencies, and with all the key stakeholders, the board has decided to proceed with the remainder of the season."
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By GlobalDataApril saw an attack by militants in India-administered Kashmir, close to the border with Pakistan, which killed 26 tourists. Following this deadly incident, India launched a series of strikes into both Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (both countries control a section of the hotly-contested territory) and Pakistan itself.
This, in turn, led to several days of mounting tension, aerial engagement, and accusations from both sides that the other had launched missile strikes.
The Dharamsala fixture on Thursday last week, between the Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals teams, was abandoned mid-match, with authorities at that point saying a floodlight failure was to blame. The abandonment led to the two teams, their staff, and media being bussed out of the city, which lies relatively close to the Kashmir border.
The relatively quick resumption is an indication that had a longer suspension come into effect, the IPL's organizers would have faced serious logistical and scheduling challenges fitting the remaining games into an already-congested cricket calendar.
Multiple India series would have been in doubt, as would the availability of overseas players for the remainder of the IPL, if the tournament had been suspended for a significant period of time.
The IPL also has several lucrative broadcast deals that could have been complicated if a quick resumption could not have been arranged.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan T20 franchise competition, the Pakistan Super League (which has also been postponed), will also resume on May 17, with the final moved back to May 25.
It was reported late last week that the Pakistan Cricket Board was set to take the remaining eight games to the United Arab Emirates – however, this was quickly discarded as an option, and a full suspension was then enacted.
The fate of this year's Asia Cup national teams tournament, which had been due to be hosted by India in September, has not yet been officially confirmed, although reports over the last few days have suggested that the tournament, which would normally include Pakistan, will be moved out of India.
