New Delhi: Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI), which were to lock horns in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash in Dharamsala on May 11, Sunday, will now play in Ahmedabad, where the match has reportedly been shifted to. The development comes in the wake of the closure of the hill town’s airport due to an escalation in tensions across the India-Pakistan border.
The update was confirmed by Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) secretary Anil Patel to news agency PTI. Originally scheduled to be an afternoon game, the fixture will be held during similar hours at the enormous Narendra Modi Stadium in the Motera region. “BCCI requested us and we accepted. Mumbai Indians are arriving later today, and travel plans of Punjab Kings will be known later,” Patel told PTI.
However, despite the heightened tensions between the two nations, the Thursday clash between PBKS and Delhi Capitals (DC) in Dharamsala is scheduled to go ahead as planned. For the uninitiated, during the wee hours of May 7, India carried out military strikes, referred to as “Operation Sindoor”, on as many as nine terrorist infrastructures inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK), in retaliation for the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Consequently, the Dharamsala airport was closed for commercial flights at least until May 10, along with several other airports of the north-west Indian cities like Amritsar, Chandigarh, and Srinagar, as they fall under the high-alert zones.
Travelling issues ft. PBKS, DC, & MI
It remains to be seen how both PBKS and DC are moved out of Dharamsala after the Thursday night clash, with the flight operations suspended in the picturesque town. The teams need to find a way to get to Delhi, as the nearest Chandigarh airport has also been closed. Like Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals are also scheduled to play on Sunday as they face Gujarat Titans (GT) in the evening at home.
However, according to a PBKS official, the BCCI is yet to inform the team of the venue change. “We have not heard from the BCCI yet. We can only figure out the travel plans once we have full clarity,” the official told PTI. Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians, which last played at home, are on standby and are awaiting BCCI’s direction for travel ahead of their next clash.
With PTI inputs
Earlier, there were reports of PBKS vs MI getting moved to Mumbai from Dharamsala amid tensions between India and Pakistan, but a fresh report claims the game has been shifted to Ahmedabad. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
