BCCI shortlists three cities to host remaining 16 matches of IPL 2025: Report – Firstpost

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly planning to restart the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season by hosting the remaining 16 matches across three cities in the southern part of the country. According to ESPNcricinfo, the BCCI has shortlisted Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad to conduct the remaining games if IPL 2025 resumes this month.
The BCCI is uncertain whether it will be able to resume the remainder of the IPL 2025 season in May due to the alarming situation along the western and northern borders. However, if the Indian government allows the league to continue, their Plan B involves hosting it far from the disturbed bordering states. Hence, the three cities in the South have reportedly been shortlisted to host the remaining games.
On Friday, the BCCI announced the suspension of IPL 2025 for a week due to safety concerns arising from the ongoing Indo-Pak clash. While the board stated that the tournament would resume after a week’s gap, reports suggest the BCCI has informally informed franchises about the challenges in restarting the IPL next week. There is a growing belief that the tournament may be postponed until later this year.
According to reports, overseas players and support staff have already started leaving India. A majority of them are expected to leave by the end of the day. Some of these players also have international duties scheduled and hence it would be difficult for them to travel back if IPL 2025 resumes.
Some players from Australia and South Africa are slated to play the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) from June 11 onwards and they would need time to recover after a hectic two-month duty in India. The IPL 2025 final was scheduled to take place on 25 May. If the BCCI decides to restart IPL 2025, most of the foreign players are unlikely to return.
The situation between India and Pakistan escalated after the Indian armed forces targetted terror camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir and Pakistan’s Punjab province early on 7th May in response to the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan has since launched a drone war against India, targeting various cities along the Indo-Pak border. India has swiftly responded by neutralising these strikes and attacking Pakistani military bases.
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