The remaining matches of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 will no longer be held in Pakistan. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took this decision after an emergency meeting on Thursday. In view of the increasing tension on the Indo-Pak border, drone attacks and rocket attacks, all playoffs and final matches will now be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). PCB Chairman Mosin Naqvi said that the board decided to shift to Dubai in consultation with all the stakeholders.
There is chaos everywhere due to the drone attack near the cricket stadium in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. A Pakistan Super League (PSL) match was to be played in this cricket stadium on the night of 8 May, which has been cancelled after this drone attack. According to the reports, the venue of the remaining matches of PSL can also be changed after this attack. The remaining matches of Pakistan Super League will be played in Dubai.
A drone attack took place on the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday morning, causing a sudden panic in the Pakistan Super League. The match between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi was also cancelled on the same night. PCB issued a statement saying that this match will now be played later as per the new schedule.
The Government of India said that on Wednesday, nine terrorist hideouts were targeted under Operation ‘Sindoor’, which included areas of Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). After this, on Thursday morning, India also attacked Pakistan’s air defense systems, in which a unit of Lahore was also ‘neutralized’.
The four remaining league matches of PSL 2025 and then the playoffs and final will now be held in UAE. These matches were earlier to be held in Rawalpindi, Lahore and Multan. PCB said that information about new dates and venues will be given soon.
The latest tension between India and Pakistan has also affected the Pakistan Super League. It has now been shifted to Dubai. Thursday’s match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings has also been postponed. This match between Karachi and Peshawar was to be held in Rawalpindi.
The effect of increasing tension between India and Pakistan is also clearly visible in the field of cricket. Pakistan Super League (PSL) has now left its land and reached Dubai. The situation is so serious that the match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings on Thursday (May 9) has been postponed for the time being.
It is also known that foreign players have already left Pakistan for UAE, where the remaining matches of the league will be played. It may take several days for the next match to be played, as PCB is deciding on which venues the matches will be played. According to the earlier schedule, the remaining four matches were to be played in Pakistan.
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Earlier on May 8, it was updated that the remaining matches of Pakistan Super League (PSL) have been shifted to Karachi. This decision was finalized during an emergency meeting of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) held at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday. It was attended by representatives of the owners of the teams involved in the PSL and law enforcement agencies.
The Pakistan Super League is now in its 10th season. It started in Dubai in 2016, the entire season was played there. The first two seasons were held in Dubai altogether. However, the 2017 PSL final was held in Pakistan (Lahore). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, part of the sixth season was also to be played in the UAE in 2021.
Delay in PSL will affect Pakistan’s calendar
Any delay in the PSL is also likely to affect Pakistan’s international lender. Bangladesh was scheduled to arrive in Pakistan three days after the PSL final, which was originally scheduled to be held on May 18, with the first T20 match scheduled to begin in Faisalabad on May 25. PCB told Cricinfo that no decision has been taken on that series yet.
PSL vs IPL is being organized simultaneously
This year the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League are being organized almost simultaneously. PSL 2025 started on 11 April and its final match will be held on 18 May. While the IPL started on 22 March and the final match will be played on 25 May. Already 58 matches of IPL 2025 had been played, however there was some technical interruption in the 58th match.
After the mega auction of IPL 2025, the PSL draft was held, so that only those players could be included who remained unsold in the IPL auction. Great players like David Warner, Daryl Mitchell, Jason Holder, Rassie van der Dussen and Kane Williamson turned to PSL. These players remained unsold in the mega auction of IPL 2025.
Operation Sindoor is the answer to the Pahalgam terror attack
Remember, on 22 April, there was a terrorist attack in the Baisaran Valley of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 tourists were killed. In retaliation, the Indian Army carried out missile attacks on several terrorist hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir under ‘Operation Sindoor’ on the intervening night of 6 and 7 May, in which many terrorists were killed.
After this, the Pakistani Army tried to target the border cities of India on Thursday, but the Indian Army foiled all the attacks. In response to this, India attacked several cities of Pakistan, and even the port of Karachi was destroyed. India has shot down two JF-17 and one F-16 fighter jets of Pakistan and also destroyed the AWACS aircraft of Pakistan Air Force in their own Punjab province.