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The Indian Heaven Premier League (IHPL), a T20 cricket tournament taking place in Jammu and Kashmir, collapsed over the weekend after the organisers allegedly disappeared without paying the hotel fees. The tournament featured the likes of Chris Gayle, Martin Guptill, and Thisara Perera along with a number of domestic cricketers. However, on Sunday, the matches did not go ahead as planned and around 40 cricketers remained stuck without payments or clarity at a hotel in Srinagar, according to media reports. “Organisers have fled from the hotel,” said Mellissa Juniper, an English umpire. “They have not paid the hotel, the players, or the umpires. We’ve reached an agreement with the hotel so players can go home. It’s unfair to keep them here away from their families.”

The staff at The Residency Hotel claimed that the tournament was positioned as a grand event for Jammu and Kashmir with the organisers booking nearly 150 rooms for ten days.

“They promised a grand event with stars like Chris Gayle to boost Kashmiri tourism,” the official said. “On Sunday morning, we found they had disappeared without clearing dues.

Some players, including Gayle, had already checked out of the hotel on Saturday after sensing some issues with the organisers and the tournament.

Former India cricketer Parvez Rasool revealed that some players even faced travel delays.

“An English umpire had to contact the British embassy,” he said.

The tournament was announced on September 18 and it caused quite a bit of buzz in Jammu and Kashmir. Team mentor Surinder Khanna went on to call it a “golden opportunity for Kashmir’s youth” and promised to “find the next Umran Malik or Parvez Rasool”.

While the presence of big names like Gayle did attract a bit of crowd at the beginning, the attendance dipped sharply and it led to slashed ticket prices, problems with sponsors and other complications.