India suspends IPL cricket as clashes with Pakistan escalate

India's cricket board suspended the IPL on Friday as fighting escalated with neighbouring Pakistan, halting play in the sport's richest tournament two weeks before the end of the season.

Board members were particularly concerned about the safety of players and whether it was appropriate for such events to take place during the conflict, a source with direct knowledge of the decision told Reuters.

“The idea is clear — it is not appropriate at this time to continue IPL,” said the source, who asked not to be named.

The suspension would take place “with immediate effect for one week,” the IPL wrote in a social media post, confirming an earlier Reuters story.

“The decision was taken by the IPL governing council after due consultation with key stakeholders after the representations from most of the franchisees, who conveyed the concern and sentiments of their players, and also the views of the broadcaster, sponsors and fans,” the IPL said.

The suspension will come as a setback for a Reliance-Disney joint venture which has broadcast rights for the matches and also scores of companies that have committed millions of dollars for advertising.

The suspension means the Indian cricket board and team franchisees will lose revenues which are linked to match days, the source said.

India and Pakistan have been locked in conflict since Wednesday when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, saying they were “terrorist infrastructure”, after a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir last month.

New Delhi named two Pakistanis as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe.

India's army said Pakistan's armed forces carried out “multiple attacks” using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early on Friday, a claim Pakistan denied.

The tournament began its season on March 22 and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches spread over 13 venues around the country.

Thursday's IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting broke out in India's border regions.

The cricket board attributed that disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala. After striking the $8.5bn (R154.9bn) media merger with Walt Disney last year, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance was targeting small businesses and promoting unconventional neuroscience studies to boost its revenues from the IPL.

Reuters