IPL Set to Resume After India-Pakistan Ceasefire; Alyssa Healy Recalls ‘Surreal’ Night in Dharamsala Amid Tensions

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to resume on Saturday after a brief suspension due to heightened geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan.

The game between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC), which was underway in Dharamsala, was called off citing “floodlight failure,” though security concerns were the real reason behind the abrupt halt.

With Dharamsala located close to the international border, players were immediately transported to New Delhi via a special train.

Once in the capital, Indian cricketers returned to their home cities, while overseas players flew back to their respective countries. This took place just before India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire.

Alyssa Healy’s First-Hand Account of the Chaos

Australia Women’s team captain Alyssa Healy, present in Dharamsala to support her husband and Delhi Capitals pacer Mitchell Starc, shared a vivid account of the night on The Willow Talk Podcast.

“It was a surreal experience. All of a sudden a couple of the light towers went out and we were just sitting there up the top waiting… we’re a large group of family and extra support staff and the next minute the guy who wrangles the group of us and gets us on the bus came up and his face was white,” Healy said.

Urgent Evacuation and Panic in the Dressing Room

Healy described the confusion and fear that followed when they were ushered into a holding area. Faf du Plessis was spotted without shoes, and families were rushed to safety.

“He was like, ‘we need to go right now’. Then another guy came out and his face was white and he grabbed one of the children and said, ‘we need to leave right now’. We were like, ‘what’s going on?’ We weren’t told anything. We had no idea.

Next minute we are being shuffled into this room which was like a holding pen. All the boys were in there. Faf du Plessis didn’t even have shoes on. We were all just waiting there, looking stressed. I said to Mitch, ‘what’s going on?’ He said the town 60km away had just been smacked by some of the missiles so there was a complete blackout in the area.”

She added, “That’s why the lights were off because the Dharamsala stadium was like a beacon at that point in time. All of a sudden we’re crammed into vans and off we go back to the hotel. There was madness.”

Chilling Journey and Border Anxiety

Healy revealed that their journey took them southwest towards the Pakistan border, adding to the growing tension.

“We ended up going southwest towards the (Pakistan) border, which was a little bit terrifying. Mitch and I have played too much Call of Duty and we’re noticing all surface-to-missile sites that were just sitting there ready to go. They’re radar-operated systems that shoot missiles at aircraft. We saw a few of them on the way through in some small towns.”

A sudden burst of fireworks from a nearby village only escalated the fear.

“Some peanut down in the village decides it’s a great idea to set off some fireworks in the middle of the day. I think everyone at lunch froze, turned around and was like, ‘oh my God!’ And then I could pinpoint, I could see the fireworks going up. I hope it was a wedding and I hope they have a beautiful marriage but that was just not good timing.”

Initial Calm Gives Way to Chaos

Healy, who initially assumed it was a simple technical issue, soon realized the urgency of the situation as more details emerged.

“Couple of the light towers went out and we were just there waiting. I heard a rumour a couple of seats down that we might have to evacuate the stadium cause the lights had gone down.”

She continued, “We are a large group of family and extra support staff. And next minute the guy that kind of wrangles the group of us and gets us on the bus, comes up and his face was white. And he was like, we need to go right now.”

A Long Road to Safety

After being transported from the stadium, families and players were relocated to the hotel and later taken to Delhi via a long route through Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar.

Healy noted that players like Shreyas Iyer were also in the same van, as the focus shifted to getting out of the danger zone as quickly as possible.

“It was just like get in a van as soon as you can get out of there,” Healy concluded, describing the incident as a night of “complete madness.”