Dark clouds hover over IPL as Indian missile strikes lead to panic among foreign players

As the Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes early on Wednesday, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed, tension gripped the foreign cricketers playing in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) over future of the tournament and to get a safe passage to their respective countries in case the ‘war-like’ situation escalates.

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India’s showpiece sport event IPL is under way at various venues and leading to its final phase. Sources claimed the tournament will go on as per schedule. However, an official confirmation regarding the same is likely to be made later in the day. “We have been asked to continue with the preparation. A match is scheduled to start in Kolkata today and another at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala tomorrow. Both the venues are yet to receive any official notification over postponement or cancellation of the matches,” said a highly placed source.

Meanwhile, the franchisees are currently keeping tabs on players, especially the overseas ones, in order to avoid any panic situation. “They are panicked, so are the Indian players. All franchisees will have a collective meeting with the BCCI and the IPL Chairman likely in the afternoon, and decide the future course of action,” added the source.