3 Times The IPL Got Interrupted Due To External Forces Ft, Operation Sindoor India Pakistan war

Recently, the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League was interrupted due to the rise in cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan. A match in Dharamshala had to be abandoned midway on May 8, and the league was suspended until a restart was announced from May 17. 

However, this isn’t the first time that the league was been disrupted due to factors beyond its control. Let’s remember three earlier instances of such occurrence in its 18-year history.

IPL 2009 

The Loksabha Elections scheduled in 2009 were always going to be a big hindrance for IPL, given the amount of security requirements for it to be held in India. 

The Indian general elections are a sight to behold, and the entire state machinery is involved in it, leaving the system too overworked to provide security and other kinds of support to the biggest cash-rich league. 

As a result, the entire 2009 season of the IPL was held in South Africa. The Deccan Chargers lifted the trophy that year under the leadership of Adam Gilchrist.

IPL 2020 

IPL 2020 was postponed and held in the UAE between September 19 and November 10 as the country was going through the first wave of COVID-19 during the IPL window in April-May 2020. 

The tournament was played in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah and was played without any audiences as the UAE offered the IPL to create a safe bubble and organise the tournament without any hiccups. Mumbai Indians won the season by dominating through and through.

IPL 2021 

This was quite a scary time for the world’s biggest cricket league, as the deadly second wave of the COVID pandemic arrived in the middle of the tournament, with COVID cases starting to happen in bio bubbles as well. 

As a result, the IPL was stopped in the middle, with the first phase completing in April-May and then the second half of the tournament being held in the UAE during September-October. CSK won the season by defeating KKR in the final.