IPL 2025 And PSL 'Should End Now': Shots Fired At BCCI And Pakistan Board For Pressurising Foreigners To Return

The IPL 2025, after a week's halt due to rising tension between India and Pakistan, will resume on Saturday with a match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders. The IPL 2025 came to a screeching halt in the middle of a game between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on May 8 with areas like Pathankot and Jammu coming under attack. After India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire, the IPL Governing Council decided on May 17 as the re-start date. 

While most foreign players and coaches had left India, there remains a cloud of uncertainty on whether all of them would come back for the second leg. The fact that now the IPL 2025 will have its final on June 3, a week later than the originally scheduled final date on May 25, complicates matters.    

The BCCI and IPL franchises, according to a report by new agency PTI, have ramped up pressure on foreign boards to ensure that their players return for the league's resumption on May 17 despite some lingering safety concerns in the wake of India-Pakistan military hostilities. The BCCI top brass has instructed IPL COO Hemang Amin to individually speak to the likes of Cricket Australia (CA) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to allay the concerns that the players may have about returning to India.

However, former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson is now happy. "Cricket might involve mega bucks these days but it is still just a game, and that has been brought sharply into focus after the Indian Premier League's hiatus this week," he wrote in a column for thenightly.com.

"Given the rising military tensions between India and Pakistan after their recent conflict, and the heightened risk during the ceasefire - which isn't a guarantee for safety - it's