In one of Kashmir’s most audacious cricket scams, the Indian Heaven Premier League (IHCPL) T20 league collapsed mid-way in Srinagar and turned in a scam after its organizers fled midway through the T20 tournament, leaving hotel, ground staff, and other vendors with significant unpaid dues. The league, which began in late October 2025, promised international cricket talent but collapsed amid allegations of fraud and mismanagement.
Amid allegations that organizers fled Srinagar, leaving players confined to hotel rooms over unpaid dues and forcing the abrupt cancellation of matches in a storm of chaos and outrage. An FIR with Jammu and Kashmir Police has been filed against the organizers in the Valley.
Launched on October 25 at Srinagar’s Bakshi Stadium and inaugurated by Jammu and Kashmir Youth Services and Sports Minister Satish Sharma, the Indian Heaven Premier League (IHPL) T20 tournament ignited massive excitement with eight teams featuring international stars like Chris Gayle, Thisara Perera, Richard Levi, and Ayan Khan, alongside promising local Kashmiri talent.
The crisis erupted when Delhi-Punjab based organizers, the promoters, from the regional NGO Yuva Society, reportedly fled Srinagar overnight without settling their debts.
According to reports, organizers left behind over ₹80-90 lakh in unpaid dues, which includes salaries for players and umpires, along with hotel bills and other vendor costs. Promoted by the Mohali-based Yuva Society and championed by Jammu & Kashmir cricketers, the IHPL sought to invigorate sports tourism across the Kashmir Valley.
Enraged players, umpires, and staff boycotted weekend fixtures at Bakshi Stadium, decrying unpaid dues, absent contracts, and rampant mismanagement.
Mellissa Juniper, England’s ECB umpire, said, “The league has had to finish early, this is not the fault of the players or the hotel management or any other staff. It’s all being done by the league.
Unfortunately, the bills have not been paid, hotels have not been paid. The hotel was instructed to lock all doors and all players to leave. We are still waiting and none of us have been paid. The league management is nowhere to be seen, and they have not been taking anyone’s calls. We have come to an agreement with the hotel to let players leave.”
The Jammu & Kashmir Sports Council swiftly distanced itself, with Secretary Nuzhat Gul clarifying that the IHPL was a private venture that merely rented Bakshi Stadium under standard protocols unaffiliated with the government or the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).
Sanjay Rawal Umpire, said, “The owner of this league has told the hotel owner to keep all the players and they disappeared from here. Now we had to get the commissioner of Police to intervene, we had a meeting with the hotel owner, they have decided to allow players to leave. The law doesn’t allow them to hold them back. We have international and domestic players. Players are free to go”
Local outrage swelled in its wake. Kashmiri cricketer Arif Kataria lambasted the “outsiders” for exploiting the Valley’s passion for the game: “No verification, no transparency the empty stands spoke volumes.” As stranded players scatter and the promised November 8 final fades into oblivion, the IHPL’s scandal casts a long shadow over Kashmir’s sporting dreams, exposing the dangers of unchecked opportunism in Indian cricket’s shadowy fringe leagues.
As players depart Srinagar, the fiasco has ignited urgent scrutiny over the unchecked explosion of private cricket leagues across India, many evading BCCI oversight. For Kashmir eager to position itself as a vibrant sports tourism hub the IHPL’s implosion is a profound humiliation, a stark reminder of how visions of glamour and opportunity can swiftly unravel into a farce of deception and disorder.
Meanwhile Jammu and Kashmir Police received a written complaint from Indian Heaven Premier League (IHPL) cricket players, submitted via team manager Zubair Bashir Dar of Srinagar Sultans, alleging that organizers Parminder Singh and Ashudhani of YUVA Society, who hosted the league at Bakshi Stadium, invited national, international, and local players with promises of professional contracts, participation fees, and full hospitality including accommodation at Hotel Radisson Collection, Ragbagh.
The complaint prompted the JK Police to file FIR No. 56/2025 under BNS sections 316(2) and 318(4), with investigation underway; additional complaints from ground staff, transporters, and the hotel regarding unpaid dues have also been lodged against the IHPL organizers.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
