ECB Snubs The PCB As It Extends Helping Hand Towards The BCCI, Presents Lucrative Offer Amid Rising Indo-Pak Tension

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on May 9, 2025, decided to suspend the eighteenth edition of the Indian Premier League for a week amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan in the wake of the heinous Pahalgam terror attack that took place on April 22, 2025. India launched Operation Sindoor and gave a befitting reply to Pakistan for funding cross-border terrorism and decimated nine terror camps which played a big part in planning and executing the Pahalgam attacks.

This is not the first time that the Indian Premier League has been called off or has been postponed. Something similar happened when the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2021. A total of sixteen matches are left in IPL 2025, including the two qualifiers, one eliminator, and the final. The BCCI will analyze the situation in detail after a week and then decide the fate of the IPL and the matches that are yet to be played.

ALSO READ | PCB Follows IPL's Footsteps, Remaining Eight Matches Of PSL Postponed After India Carries Out Aggressive Anti-Terror Operations

English and Wales Cricket Board Offers To Help The BCCI

Amid the rising Indo-Pak tensions, the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has extended its support to the BCCI. The overseas players have already started to fly out of the country as the threat over the remainder of IPL 2025 looms large. The ECB has reportedly pitched in its name to host the remainder of IPL 2025, but the final call remains with the BCCI. "We will help our counterparts at the BCCI where we can," said ECB chief executive Richard Gould, as quoted by the Mail Online. Gould also expressed the complexities involved in the matter.

Twelve league matches, three playoff matches, and a final are yet to be played in the IPL. Interestingly, the PSL has also been postponed, and the UAE has already refrained from hosting its remaining matches.

ALSO READ | Pakistan Suffers Massive Setback! Emirates Cricket Board Likely To Shut Door For PCB From Hosting Pakistan Super League

India To Tour England In June

As per original plans, the Indian Team was all set to tour England in June after the culmination of IPL 2025. The ECB's offer is a bit practical, considering the fact that the players of the Indian Test team will also find time to prepare for the series against England. The IND vs ENG Test series starts on June 20, 2025.