Heaven's Premier League Vanishes Into the Blue

Match interruptions have never been so shambolic. A whole tournament gets run out as organisers scoot

- By Kaleem Geelani

KASHMIR'S GOLDEN CHINAR FALL, flecked with chrysanthemum, was getting some flamboyant cricket colours too this season. But a whole league—a copy of the prized IPL packaged as the Indian Heaven Premier League (IHPL)—vanished overnight into the autumn on November 2. A motley crew of dumbfounded international stars like Chris Gayle and Jesse Ryder, umpires and match officials were stuck in their hotel rooms, at the high-end Radisson Collection, due to unpaid bills. And Srinagar’s Bakshi stadium saw an empty ground and stands, clueless broadcasters packing their equipment, shocked catering agencies wrapping their goodies with tarpaulin to ship them out.

Why? The organisers of the private league, a nonprofit called the Yuva Society of Mohali from Punjab, ditched Srinagar halfway through a 15-day tournament, a week ahead of the scheduled November 8 final.

Slow to ignite on tinglingly cold evenings, the T20 league was beginning to generate some steam—or so it seemed. After all, there were the likes of Gayle, Ryder, Thisara Perera and Devon Smith playing alongside local talent. Like the IPL, there were eight teams slugging it out, with cheering crowds huddled under the tall floodlights. But the final overs didn't come. Instead, fate bowled a disaster that has shaken up Kashmir's sports world.