A cricket match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) being hosted in Dharamsala, in northern India, had to be cancelled midway when a total blackout was witnessed in various Indian cities after war sirens rang on Thursday.
India's cricket board has now suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) amid the rising tensions, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
Across the border, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will move its remaining matches to the United Arab Emirates in the wake of Pakistan's ongoing conflict with India, the country's cricket board chief Mohsin Naqvi said.
Thursday's PSL match in Rawalpindi was postponed amid escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbours, and Naqvi said the decision to move the last eight games was made to ensure players avoid "possible reckless targeting".
IPL organisers had earlier said they are awaiting government advice before determining the fate of the remainder of the hugely popular Twenty20 tournament.
"The PCB has always stood by the position that politics and sports need to be kept apart," Naqvi, also Pakistan's interior minister, said in a statement.
"As a responsible organisation that has overcome adversities repeatedly and ensured that the game of cricket flourishes, it was important for us to ensure the mental well-being of all players participating in the PSL."
There are 12 games left to play in the group stage of the IPL.
"The situation is changing day by day," Shukla told the Indian Express newspaper. "We will do whatever we are told and inform all stakeholders.
At the moment, our priority is the safety of all players, fans and other stakeholders." BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had told Reuters on Thursday that the IPL's foreign players were "comfortable" continuing to play.
He did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
The two countries have been clashing since India struck multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday in retaliation for a deadly terror attack in India-administered Kashmir last month, in which it said Islamabad was involved.
Pakistan denied the accusation, but both countries have exchanged cross-border firing and shelling and sent drones and missiles into each other's airspace since then, with nearly four dozen people dying in the violence.
