Top cricket league suspended over rising tensions between India and Pakistan

India has suspended its top cricket tournament, the hugely popular Indian Premier League, over rising tensions with Pakistan.

The news comes a day after the Pakistan Super League (PSL) moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates after a drone fell within the Rawalpindi Stadium complex, which Pakistan says was from India. Thursday's incident happened hours before a match between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi - that involved three English players James Vince, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Luke Wood - was due to take place.

It was later postponed. The Indian Premier League (IPL) suspension comes after a fixture between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals at a stadium in Dharamshala was abandoned on Thursday evening when the power went out during a government-mandated blackout.

In a statement, the IPL said the 2025 season was "suspended with immediate effect for one week". It said the decision was taken after representations from "most of the franchisees, who conveyed the concern and sentiments of their players, and also the views of the broadcaster, sponsors and fans".

The IPL attracts many of the top players in the world and has an estimated viewership of 500 million people. Jay Shah, the chairman of the International Cricket Council - and son of India's home affairs minister Amit Shah - posted on Instagram to express support for the Indian armed forces.

"Our armed forces are our pride and no words are enough to express their valour and commitment in protecting our motherland and people," Mr Shah wrote. "We salute our brave men and women in the armed forces who are shielding our nation from terrorism.

"Let us unite to honour our heroes and build a stronger more united India." It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict. Overnight, artillery exchanges between the two nuclear-armed countries were reported across the frontier in Kashmir.

The Indian government also appears to be taking action online, as the prominent Instagram account @Muslim was blocked in the country. Also blocked was online news outlet The Wire, which accused the government of "blatant censorship" in a post on X.

A notice on the blocked Instagram account said it was not available because Meta "complied with a legal request". ???? Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app ???? The England and Wales Cricket Board said there had been regular dialogue with the 10 English players involved in the IPL.

Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Liam Livingstone, Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Reece Topley, Sam Curran, Jamie Overton have all featured this year. Read more:The story behind India and Pakistan's deadly conflictKashmir tourist attack stokes long-held tensions The developments come weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.

In response, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Islamabad-administered parts of the disputed region. On Wednesday, India said it hit nine "terrorist infrastructure" sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has since vowed that India will "now have to pay the price" for their "blatant mistake"..