By Will Davies and Tripti Lahiri
When player auctions for the 2011 Indian Premier League 20-20 cricket tournament begin in Bangalore Saturday, there wont be a single Pakistani cricketer up for grabs.
Not one features, despite many being leading proponents of 20-20, the shortest (and most recently developed) format of cricket play. Aside from the first IPL tournament in 2008, Pakistani players have been shut out of the league since a terror attack in Mumbai in November that year linked to terror groups in Indias neighbor.
There was an uproar at last years auction, when none of the 11 Pakistani cricketers available received any bids. But its not exactly clear if the lack of Pakistanis in the league this time is another snub by India or a choice made by their cricketing board.
An AFP report last month quoted an un-named IPL official as saying the Pakistan Cricket Board didnt send them the names of any players to include in the January auction. The Pakistan cricketing body couldnt be reached for comment.
A Reuters report soon after quoted the chief operating officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board as saying they wanted to participate in the IPL and they were willing to clear their cricketers to play, but that the players also needed clearance from the Board of the Control for Cricket in India to participate.
A senior executive of the Indian Premier League couldnt be reached for comment. But a person familiar with the matter on the Indian side said it was seen as difficult to include Pakistani players since several of them are facing an inquiry on match-fixing allegations.
Its generally a tough time to be a Pakistani cricketer. Last year three top Pakistani cricketers were suspended after a British tabloid reported that they were involved in match-fixing. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were in Doha , Qatar , on Thursday for a six-day hearing before an anti-corruption tribunal of the International Cricket Council, with a verdict expected next week.
Once again Pakistani players will have to watch as their peers pick up pay checks that cricketers couldnt even dream of just a handful of years ago. This will be the third year they miss out after they were also sidelined in 2009. That year, the entire IPL tournament was shifted to South Africa because of security concerns since Indias police apparatus was on duty for national elections.
The treatment of Pakistani cricketers at IPL auctions is fueling ill-will in Pakistan , with some online forums describing the countrys cricketers as banned in India .
Some Pakistanis dont think their cricketers should even try to be part of the IPL after last years insult, as in this Facebook group.
In India, people who criticized the chilly reception to Pakistanis last year came in for flak.
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, who owns IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, hit the headlines after he expressed disappointment that no Pakistan cricketers were bid on or picked last year, leading the Hindu hardline party Shiv Sena to disrupt Mumbai screenings of his 2010 movie My Name is Khan.
Pakistan Players Shut Out of IPL Again - India Real Time - WSJ
When player auctions for the 2011 Indian Premier League 20-20 cricket tournament begin in Bangalore Saturday, there wont be a single Pakistani cricketer up for grabs.
Not one features, despite many being leading proponents of 20-20, the shortest (and most recently developed) format of cricket play. Aside from the first IPL tournament in 2008, Pakistani players have been shut out of the league since a terror attack in Mumbai in November that year linked to terror groups in Indias neighbor.
There was an uproar at last years auction, when none of the 11 Pakistani cricketers available received any bids. But its not exactly clear if the lack of Pakistanis in the league this time is another snub by India or a choice made by their cricketing board.
An AFP report last month quoted an un-named IPL official as saying the Pakistan Cricket Board didnt send them the names of any players to include in the January auction. The Pakistan cricketing body couldnt be reached for comment.
A Reuters report soon after quoted the chief operating officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board as saying they wanted to participate in the IPL and they were willing to clear their cricketers to play, but that the players also needed clearance from the Board of the Control for Cricket in India to participate.
A senior executive of the Indian Premier League couldnt be reached for comment. But a person familiar with the matter on the Indian side said it was seen as difficult to include Pakistani players since several of them are facing an inquiry on match-fixing allegations.
Its generally a tough time to be a Pakistani cricketer. Last year three top Pakistani cricketers were suspended after a British tabloid reported that they were involved in match-fixing. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were in Doha , Qatar , on Thursday for a six-day hearing before an anti-corruption tribunal of the International Cricket Council, with a verdict expected next week.
Once again Pakistani players will have to watch as their peers pick up pay checks that cricketers couldnt even dream of just a handful of years ago. This will be the third year they miss out after they were also sidelined in 2009. That year, the entire IPL tournament was shifted to South Africa because of security concerns since Indias police apparatus was on duty for national elections.
The treatment of Pakistani cricketers at IPL auctions is fueling ill-will in Pakistan , with some online forums describing the countrys cricketers as banned in India .
Some Pakistanis dont think their cricketers should even try to be part of the IPL after last years insult, as in this Facebook group.
In India, people who criticized the chilly reception to Pakistanis last year came in for flak.
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, who owns IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, hit the headlines after he expressed disappointment that no Pakistan cricketers were bid on or picked last year, leading the Hindu hardline party Shiv Sena to disrupt Mumbai screenings of his 2010 movie My Name is Khan.
Pakistan Players Shut Out of IPL Again - India Real Time - WSJ
