BCCI adamant there is no danger to Australian players in IPL despite growing military tensions with Pakistan

A T20 tournament in Pakistan involving David Warner has been moved to another country as military tensions with India escalate raIsing questions about the IPL.

Indian cricket officials are adamant foreign players, including Australians, remain “quite comfortable” as IPL games are rescheduled and reports the tournament could be postponed amid an “evolving situation” as military tensions with Pakistan escalate.

The remainder of the Pakistan Super League, where five Australians including David Warner are playing, has been moved to the United Arab Emirates with relocations to stall the tournament for up to a week.

Ricky Ponting, who is coaching the Punjab Kings in the IPL, based in Dharamsala where airports have been closed for civilian and commercial use since Wednesday, conceded to not knowing where his team was headed.

A match involving the Kings was abandoned after a floodlight failure interrupted the game, and spectators were asked to evacuate the ground.

Several other Australians, including fast bowler Mitch Starc, playing for the Delhi Capitals, were involved in the game with their next movements unclear according to Ponting.

“We’re not sure where we’re going at the moment … there’s been some talk about Ahmedabad and some talk about Jaipur, but we’re only really worried about tonight’s match,” he said during the broadcast.

A worker removes the equipment placed next to the stumps after the authorities asked to evacuate the stadium in Dharamshala, India. Picture: AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia

“You know, there’s been a fair bit happening the last few days and we’re just trying to make sure we focus on our performance here.”

There are 15 Australian players including Test captain Pat Cummins, and two coaches, Ponting and Just Langer, in India involved across the 10 IPL teams and tournament chief, Arun Dhumal, said things were being reviewed.,

“We are reviewing the situation right now. It is an evolving situation,” Dhumal told PTI.

“We haven’t received any directive from the government. Obviously, the decision will be taken keeping all the logistics in mind.”

A match across the border in the Pakistan Super League was also postponed hours before the start with more PSL matches likely to be rescheduled.

Five Australians are currently playing in the Pakistan’s PSL competition including David Warner, Max Bryant, Riley Meredith, Sean Abbott and Ben Dwarshuis but they can’t exit the country because airspace is reportedly closed.

“There is no chance of the foreign players leaving the country anyway with airspace issues, but they are living under a heavy security blanket of Pakistan Army,’’ PCB spokesperson Amir Mir said.

The reason for the power outage in Dharamsala, which is in the vicinity of the Kashmir region on the border with Pakistan where the conflict is heating up after military strikes during the week, was not clear.

“Due to a power outage in the area, one of the light towers at the HPCA stadium malfunctioned. BCCI regrets the inconvenience caused to the in-stadium attendees,” an official statement said.

Ricky Ponting in Dharamsala. Picture: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images

Despite the volatility and increasing anxiety around the situation, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said the foreign players in IPL had no worries about continuing to play and there was no move to cancel the tournament.

“They are quite comfortable. Everyone in the league is comfortable,” Saikia said.

“The safety and security of every player – be it a local player or a foreigner – every match official and every fan is important for us.

“We have the clearance of every single authority.”

Originally published as BCCI adamant there is no danger to Australian players in IPL despite growing military tensions with Pakistan