The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) season has been halted midway due to the current border tensions between India and Pakistan. The match between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) last night (May 8) was stopped abruptly with the confirmation of the league being suspended coming out today (May 9) morning.
While an official confirmation regarding the restart and the added details is yet to come from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the IPL committee, there are a few changes that can be expected when IPL 2025 resumes.
[Note** The IPL has officially issued that the tournament has been suspended for one week. However, unless the situation de-escalates, there can be an extended wait period which can see the below factors come into play]
One big question will be regarding the possible venue for the remainder of IPL 2025. Ideally, the BCCI would want it to happen in India, but they must look for other contingency options as well.
The two potential choices are the UAE and South Africa. The UAE has earlier hosted the IPL, in 2020 edition and partly in 2021. Additionally, India’s recent participation in the Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai which was originally scheduled for Pakistan, further strengthens the UAE’s case.
South Africa also emerges as a viable alternative, especially since it avoids the geopolitical tensions. The country previously hosted the IPL in 2009 and offers favourable time slots for Indian viewers. Moreover, several IPL franchises own teams in South Africa’s SA20 league, ensuring familiarity with the venues. With no international matches scheduled between August and September, South Africa’s stadiums would be readily available for the tournament.
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The only possible window for a resumption seems to be between last week of August and early September. This is because after the five-match England Tests end on August 4, the Men in Blue were scheduled to tour Bangladesh in the second half of August, while the Asia Cup was slated to take place in September. But with the current tensions between India and Pakistan, the Asia Cup could be cancelled. Furthermore, the Indian cricket team is also unlikely to travel to Bangladesh which makes the aforementioned timeframe plausible.
However, a major issue for franchises will be the availability of overseas stars due to national commitments. Notably, teams likes England, West Indies, South Africa, Australia will be engaged in bilateral fixtures in and around that window. Two major bilateral series are due to be played close to the window – South Africa tour of Australia (from Aug 10-24) and South Africa tour of England (from Sept 2-14).
This limitation could subsequently see franchises making more replacement signings to fill any voids left. Interestingly, some of the players who were replaced due to injuries might become fit again but they won’t be available for selection since IPL rule doesn’t permit the return of a player within a season once replaced.
There are 16 games still remaining to go – which include 12 league games and four playoff matches. This could potentially lead to a possible cramping up of fixtures in the limited timeframe to finish the tournament.
With an expected seven-to-ten day window at best available for the second phase of the IPL 2025, there could be days with consecutive double headers, and players will get less time to recuperate from a previous fixture. The rulemakers can also opt to host the matches in only a few venues to reduce time constraints and other logistical issues.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how the BCCI charts up the revamped schedule for the restart.
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