"It does not look nice that cricket goes on while the country is at war," a BCCI official was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.
The disruptions with regard to the IPL began after 27 airports in the northern and western parts of India were closed down for safety purposes. Two of the airports were in the cities belonging to the home venues of the Punjab Kings - Dharamsala and Chandigarh. Although Chandigarh matches were done, the closure of Kangra airport in Dharamsala meant a logistical nightmare for teams travelling to and from the mountain area. While the Sunday clash between the Punjab Kings and the Mumbai Indians was shifted to Ahmedabad, the Thursday game against the Delhi Capitals stayed put in Dharamsala.
Since the Capitals were already in Dharamsala, the game moved ahead, but a blackout being enforced in several districts, including Pathankot, which is closest to the venue, didn't help. A stadium with floodlights on, hosting a high-profile match like the IPL, with the spectator number going up to thousands, didn't make for a good look. Both teams were swiftly moved out of the stadium to the hotel and left Dharamsala on Friday morning in a special train arranged by the BCCI.
A blackout was observed in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Mohali, in Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh amid air raid alarms and reports of explosion-like sounds in Jammu.
Earlier, the PSL was moved out of Pakistan to the UAE after a drone attack at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
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