2 w. ago IPL resumes after Kashmir conflict with English players facing ODI overlap

Bethell, Salt and Livingstone back in action for RCBStarc and Curran among those opting to stay back homeOnly eight days after the competition was suspended amid mounting hostilities along India’s border with Pakistan the Indian Premier League returns on Saturday, with most of the foreign players who scattered across the globe in the 48 hours after the competition collapsed now back in the country, their pursuit of runs and wickets having been temporarily replaced by the rapid accumulation of air miles.The plug was effectively pulled on the tournament 10.1 overs into a game between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala on 8 May, when as rockets landed only 80km to the west the floodlights went out, fans were told to leave and players rushed back to their hotel. That match has been rescheduled for 24 May in Jaipur with all the remaining games to be played in only six venues and Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata joining Dharamsala in being cut from the schedule. Continue reading...

Sport

2 w. ago Almost 300m people at risk of death through starvation – report

Aid cuts, conflict, climate and economic shocks contribute to sixth consecutive rise in numbers facing ‘high levels of food insecurity’Acute food insecurity continues to rise at an alarming rate, with almost 300 million people at risk of death through starvation, new analysis reveals.Escalating conflict and cuts to humanitarian aid along with climate and economic shocks forced an additional 13.7 million people into chronic food insecurity last year. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Liam Dawson earns recall to England squad as IPL threatens player availability for West Indies series

Harry Brook’s first series as white-ball captain could now clash with the latter stages of the Indian Premier League

Events

2 w. ago WCA concerned players cannot make ‘informed decisions’ over return to IPL action

The Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League were paused last week as military hostilities between the two nations escalated.

Sport

2 w. ago The Guardian view on a Himalayan truce: it follows a familiar pattern of conflicts past | Editorial

After drone strikes, nuclear jitters and a ceasefire, the latest fighting between India and Pakistan reveals how peace dies by routine “The arms race between India and Pakistan poses perhaps the most probable prospect for future use of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons,” James Woolsey, the CIA director, told Congress in 1993. That assessment is relevant now, after days of escalating conflict that included missile and drone strikes on military bases. It is a uniquely modern arms race: high on nationalist fervour and habitual mistrust, choreographed so that each clash is always just one provocation away from becoming the last.On Saturday, Donald Trump announced a “full and immediate” ceasefire between India and Pakistan. The truce, brokered by US officials, came amid speculation by military analysts that Pakistan was edging closer to using nuclear weapons. It was met with cautious optimism – not least as both sides accused each other of violating the agreement wit...

Events

2 w. ago IPL will resume ‘soon’ confirms BCCI after India and Pakistan ceasefire

Tournament was suspended due to escalating hostilitiesReported plan is for IPL to restart this FridayThe Indian Premier League will resume “soon” but no decision has been taken yet as to exactly when, the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India has said.Escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan led to their respective T20 tournaments being suspended on Friday, with the BCCI saying that applied to the IPL “with immediate effect for one week”. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Ceasefire reached after India and Pakistan trade missile strikes on air bases

Exchange of missile strikes on military targets early on Saturday represented most dangerous escalation in conflict yet

Events

2 w. ago Trump says ceasefire reached after India and Pakistan trade missile strikes on air bases

Exchange of missile strikes on military targets early on Saturday represented most dangerous escalation in conflict yet

Events

3 w. ago Tensions rise as IMF releases £750m loan to Pakistan despite escalating conflict with India

New funding to aid economic stability and climate resilience

Economics

3 w. ago India great Virat Kohli set to call time on Test cricket career before England tour

Rohit Sharma announced Test retirement this weekIndia due to embark on five-Test England tour in JuneVirat Kohli is set to deliver another blow to India’s plans for their imminent tour of England by indicating he wants to retire from Test cricket just days after Rohit Sharma’s decision to stand down, according to reports.Indian media is reporting that the 36-year-old has told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he no longer wishes to play the longest format of the game. The news comes amid rising tensions border with Pakistan. The Indian Premier League is on a one-week pause, while the Pakistan Super League has also been suspended. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago England could host Indian Premier League as India and Pakistan hostilities escalate

There are 16 remaining fixtures in the IPL and the England and Wales Cricket Board could be tempted to offer itself as a venue for those matches to be fulfilled, with both the IPL and it's Parkistani counterpart, the PSL, both currently suspended

Politics

3 w. ago Pakistan launches missile strikes as India hits back with raids on military bases in deepening conflict between nuclear

It's the latest escalation in a conflict triggered by a massacre last month that India blames on Pakistan.

Events

3 w. ago Cricket paying the price for being ruled by the big stick, and the big cheque | Barney Ronay

The suspension of the IPL has ramifications for the game worldwide, but it has allowed itself to be too in thrall to the Indian money machineThe thing about always saying yes to the person with the biggest stick is that, in the end, you don’t get to say yes any more. Or no. Or anything else for that matter. The thing about always taking the money is that in the end the money has to be repaid. The thing about aligning all your interests with a single furiously nationalistic political party is Well, it’s the thing we have now.It would be incorrect to say English cricket and the ECB are in danger of being compromised, financially menaced and basically screwed by ripples from the deeply distressing, potentially apocalyptic escalation of military conflict in Kashmir. Or rather it would be incomplete to say this. English cricket is all of these things. But more widely cricket everywhere is screwed by this. Financially, structurally, even – and this feels like laughter in the dark – morall...

Economics

3 w. ago Pakistan accuses India of targeting three military bases with missiles as tensions escalate

The Pakistan military said most of the Indian missiles, fired from military jets, were intercepted by air defencesPakistan has threatened further retaliation after accusing India of targeting three of its military bases with missiles fired from fighter jets, in a major escalation of the brewing conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.“India, with its naked aggression, has attacked with missiles. Nur Khan base, Murid base and Shorkot base have been targeted,” Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a live broadcast aired by state television early on Saturday. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Pakistan says retaliatory strikes under way after accusing India of targeting military bases

Pakistan officials confirm counterattack against India has begun under the name Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos, meaning ‘wall of lead’ in ArabicPakistan said it had begun retaliation strikes after accusing India of targeting three of its military bases with missiles fired from fighter jets, in a major escalation of the brewing conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.“India, with its naked aggression, has attacked with missiles. Nur Khan base, Murid base and Shorkot base have been targeted,” Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in a live broadcast aired by state television early on Saturday. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Pakistan Super League follows Indian Premier League in postponing matches

The PSL had originally moved some of its teams and infrastructure to the United Arab Emirates.

Politics

3 w. ago England open to hosting IPL after border hostilities prompt suspension

ECB has reached out to BCCI after IPL halted PSL also suspended with UAE unwilling to step in as hostThe England and Wales Cricket Board is open to hosting the remainder of the Indian Premier League in September after escalating cross-border tension between India and Pakistan prompted the suspension of the world’s most lucrative Twenty20 tournament on Friday.In a chaotic 24 hours matches in both the IPL and the Pakistan Super League were cancelled or abandoned, schedules torn up and foreign players told to start packing and book flights home. The Pakistan Cricket Board announced that the last eight fixtures of its tournament were being relocated to the United Arab Emirates, only for the Emirates Cricket Board apparently to reconsider its decision to host because it was “wary of being perceived as an ally of the PCB”, leading to that tournament also being suspended. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago IPL suspended as tensions with Pakistan reach boiling point and India's military are left 'terrified' after Pakistan's Chinese

A BCCI official said the IPL had been suspended indefinitely due to the India-Pakistan military conflict.

Events

3 w. ago India suspends Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament amid Pakistan tensions

The nuclear-armed neighbours have been locked in conflict since Wednesday

Politics

3 w. ago Indian Premier League 'suspended indefinitely' as Pakistan conflict escalates

Tensions are rising between India and Pakistan and cricket chiefs have chosen to suspend this year's IPL indefinitely

Politics