If reports are to be believed then, IPL franchise owners who have teams in the upcoming UAE T20 League and the South Africa T20 league, both of which start in January next year, do not want the services of Pakistani players, which might lead to them missing out on playing in this lucrative tournaments.
The issue is the result of the 26 November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks after which Pakistani players became pariahs with regard to anything in cricket related to India.
Though there were many Pakistani players in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008, the anger of the Indian people after it was revealed that the attack was carried out by terrorists from Pakistan, led to the IPL cutting ties with Pakistani players and they are yet to make a comeback in the lucrative league.
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Apart from this, India has not played any bilateral series against Pakistan since 2012-13 and the two rivals only face off in ICC and ACC events.
Pakistani players and board have been vocal about not being able to play in IPL which involves a lot of money and attracts players from all over the globe.
But they might face more setbacks as InsideSport reported that, Pakistani players might not be able to play in the upcoming CSA and UAE T20 leagues as well, because the team owners, the majority of whom also own franchises in the IPL, are not keen on having their services.
According to the report, IPL team owners fear retaliation from the Indian public and so they don’t want any Pakistani players' involvement in the league. This might mean that players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi, some of the best in business in T20s, might not feature in either of the leagues.
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"We don’t want Pakistani players. First, it is hard to negotiate with the board for the NOCs. Then comes the backlash in India. I don’t think any Indian fans will be happy if Pakistani players play for us," a franchise official with teams in both the UAE and South African leagues told InsideSport.
"A lot is at stake for the team as a huge investment is involved. No one wants to hurt the sentiments of the fans back home. We have decided not to chase any player. They have some of the best players in the shortest format of the game, but it’s not in our best interest," he added.
However, the Indian franchises have requested BCCI to atleast allows non-contracted Indian players to play in the overseas T20 leagues.
(InsideSport report)
