new delhi: It was during the first strategic timeout when IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal realised that the clash between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala could not have continued.
The air raid sirens had gone off in two neighbouring cities, one of them less than 100km away, and 25,000 people were in the stands unaware of the security concerns.
On one of his “most challenging days” as a cricket administrator, Dhumal had to oversee the orderly evacuation of these 25,000 people and ensure that the players were not affected by the change of circumstances.
Floodlights were dimmed and eventually turned off and a blackout protocol came into operation after Pathankot (85km from Dharamsala) and Jammu (a little over 197km away) came under a drone attack from Pakistan.
Announcements were duly made to inform the sizeable crowd of floodlights being switched off. It was blamed on a technical snag at first, a ploy to ensure that the assembled fans did not panic.
“...when the announcement was made on the public address system about floodlights going off, people didn’t want to leave,” Dhumal recalled in an interview.
“We had to ensure that the evacuation of spectators happened without pressing the panic button. We couldn’t have allowed a stampede,” he added.
Available evidence suggests that Dhumal, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association officials and the local police pulled off the task with elan as people dispersed in less than half an hour’s time.
He was seen requesting people to leave the stadium, standing next to Punjab Kings co-owner Preity Zinta in one of the galleries. Dharamsala is the second home base of the Punjab franchise.