How politics affected IPL over the years

2009: The entire IPL season had to be shifted to South Africa due to the Lok Sabha elections in India. The government said it wouldn’t be possible to provide enough security for both, the elections and the IPL, simultaneously

2009: A year after the IPL’s inception, Pakistani players were banned from participating in the tournament due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the Nov 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Mumbai Indians’s Lasith Malinga was one of t he Sri Lankan players affected by the ban in 2013 

2013: Sri Lankan players were banned from playing in IPL matches at Chennai due to growing political tension about the ill-treatment of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. The decision was taken by the IPL Governing Council after the Tamil Nadu state government wrote a letter to the prime minister asking for the ban.

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2014: The first 20 matches of the IPL were played in the UAE, due to the general elections in india. The government couldn’t ensure security for both events. The games were held in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The tournament returned to India after April 30.

2016: Mid-way through the IPL, 13 matches scheduled in Maharashtra were moved out of the state after a Bombay High Court ruling. The ruling came after a Public Interest Litigation questioned the hosting of matches in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur despite a severe drought in the state. A lot of water is consumed for pitch preparation and maintenance for every game and this was  deemed wasteful given the water crisis in the state. The ruling affected 13 matches, including the final which was moved from Mumbai to Bangalore. 

A member of the ground staff waters the pitch before a match at Wankhede. Pic/AFP

2025: The BCCI suspends the IPL for a week amidst escalating tension with Pakistan following a recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, where 26 lives were lost.

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