January 20 2010
Pakistani cricketers will not feature in the third edition of the Indian Premier League this year after being ignored by franchises at the players’ auction last Tuesday.
None of the eleven Pakistanis who went under the hammer, including flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi, were sold despite their national team being the reigning World Twenty20 champions, reported AFP from Mumbai.
Pakistan’s players have reacted with anger and disappointment at this. Multi-millionaire owners of the eight clubs, who attended the auction, declined to comment on why the Pakistanis were kept out.
Though the players had been given the go-ahead from the Pakistan government, franchises were wary over whether the strained relations with India would affect their ability to get visas.
