Invitation extended to all three Indian Armed Forces chiefs, top officers for IPL final: BCCI secy

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia said that an invitation has been extended to Chiefs of all three armed forces, top-ranked officers and soldiers for the Indian Premier League (IPL) final, which will take place on June 3 in Ahmedabad.

The title clash of the IPL will be held on June 3 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The ongoing edition of the tournament was temporarily suspended on May 9 due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, which also involved the Indian Armed Forces carrying out Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The move by the BCCI is aimed at celebrating the success of the operation.

“We have extended an invitation to all Indian Armed Forces chiefs (General Upendra Dwivedi, the Chief of Army Staff, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, the Chief of Naval Staff, and Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, the Chief of Air Staff), top-ranked officers and soldiers for the IPL final in Ahmedabad to celebrate the success of Operation Sindoor”, Saikia said.

Operation Sindoor was India’s decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Launched on May 7, Operation Sindoor led to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen.

After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres, and airfields across 11 airbases in Pakistan. After this, on May 10, an understanding of the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan was announced.

Coming to the IPL, Punjab Kings (PBKS) sealed their top spot on the table and a slot in the qualifier with a win over Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday. The Qualifier one will take place at Mullanpur on May 29 and will witness PBKS battle either Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) or Gujarat Titans (GT). The eliminator, featuring Mumbai Indians (MI), will take place in Mullanpur as well on May 30 and will witness the five-time champions battle either RCB or GT.

RCB, placed third in the points table with 17 points next to GT (18 points), have a chance to book a qualifier one spot if they win against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in their clash at Lucknow, taking place on Tuesday. (ANI)