IPL, Interrupted: Looking back at the tournament's past disruptions
The IPL's week-long suspension due to the cross-border clashes isn't the first time the tournament has been rescheduled, relocated or budgeted for factors aside from cricket
Cricket fans stand outside the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on May 9, 2025, after the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament was suspended for a week following the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. Image: Arun SANKAR / AFP
As India-Pakistan border tensions rise, the BCCI has put the IPL on hold for a week. While 58 matches have been completed in the season, the plan for the remaining 12 in the business end “will be announced in due course in consultation with relevant authorities and stakeholders”, Devajit Saikia, the honorary secretary of the BCCI, said in a press release.
This is not the first time, though, that the IPL has been disrupted. In its 18-year history, the tournament has been shifted out of the country four times, faced scrutiny over match-fixing, and has seen two of its teams being banned. Add to that the fact that Lalit Modi, the former IPL commissioner, who is known to have masterminded the tournament, was ousted and barred for life by the BCCI following allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds.
Here’s a timeline capturing IPL’s restive journey:
- 2008: IPL launched
- 2009: Moved to South Africa due to the Lok Sabha elections
- 2010: Lalit Modi, then IPL commissioner, investigated for corruption, suspended
- 2012: Kochi Tuskers terminated after one season due to financial issues
- 2013: Allegations of spot-fixing and betting surface—three RR players and a top CSK official arrested; BCCI bans Lalit Modi for life over earlier allegations; Pune Warriors terminated after three seasons following financial issues;
- 2014: 20 matches played in the UAE as the tournament coincided with the general elections
- 2015: RR and CSK banned as allegations of spot-fixing proved; Pune SuperGiants and Gujarat Lions replace them for 2016 and 2017 seasons
- 2020: Played in the UAE due to Covid restrictions
- 2021: First phase played in April-May suspended due to Covid, concluding phase held in the UAE in Sept-Oct
- 2025: Suspended for a week due to escalating India-Pak tensions
