IPL 2009 Twenty20 Missing Star Players

The second season of Indian Premier League (IPL) starts from 18 April 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa. Cricket fans are expecting lots of excitement and entertainment ahead of another big-money tournament from IPL. However, this year IPL is missing a number of star players who were present last year’s inaugural tournament.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey are missing the tournament as they opted to rest during this time, while other Australian players like Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson are available only for 2 weeks as they all have been included in Australian squad for the Pakistan series in UAE.

West Indies Captain Chris Gayle, and some of the star English cricketers like Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, two of the highest paid players of this year’s auction, as well as Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah are also available for 2 weeks due to the upcoming series between England and West Indies. Moreover, Pakistani players like Sohail Tanvir, who was the highest wicket taker with 22 wickets last season, will also miss the tournament as Pakistan government put a bar on the Pakistani players visiting India earlier this year.

Do you think that IPL 2009 will be less exciting in the absence of these star players?

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AFP