Operation Sindoor hits PSL? Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings rescheduled after Rawalpindi stadium damaged by drone attack

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) clash between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings has been rescheduled after the portion of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was damaged following a drone crash on Thursday. The incident occurred few hours before the scheduled PSL clash, thus heightening the growing tensions between India and Pakistan.

Several videos surfaced on social media claiming a restaurant building near the Rawalpindi stadium being hit. To verify the piece of news, Livemint contacted a source in Pakistan on whether the stadium was actually damaged by the drone strike. “Yeah,” replied the source on conditions of anonymity.

It has also been learnt that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is contemplating to shift the remaining PSL matches to Karachi or Dubai in the wake of the growing geopolitical tensions in the country, thus ensuring the safety of the players (local and overseas).

“The Pakistan Cricket Board, in consultation with all the stakeholders, has decided to reschedule tonight’s HBL PSL X match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings. The PCB will announce the revised date in due course,” PCB said in a statement. 

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has also met the foreign players in the PSL. Also the match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings seems unlikely on May 8. Earlier on wee hours of Wednesday, Indian struck Pakistan with a missile attack (named as Operation Sindoor) that demolished nine terrorist camps.

Earlier, England players in the ongoing season of PSL were divided on whether to return back home or continue playing in Pakistan, reported The Telegraph. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) conducted an emergency meeting to assess the security situation.

Indian Defence Ministry confirms strikes

For the unversed, Operation Sindoor is a retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that killed 26 innocent lives (25 Indian and one Nepali). The Defence Ministry of India on Thursday confirmed that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised in a press release.

“This morning, the Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan. Indian response has been in the same domain with same intensity as Pakistan. It has been reliably learnt that an Air Defence system at Lahore has been neutralised,” the statement read.