IPL 2009: Without Pakistani cricketers?

It seems that there could be no Pakistani cricket player in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2009. IPL 2009 is going to take place in April and May and in the last season there were lots of Pakistani players such as, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi,

Kamran Akmal etc. Some of the players like Sohel Tanvir performed superbly. In fact, Sohail Tanvir was one of the key players who contributed in the championship of Rajasthan Royal in IPL 2008. Because of Mumbai terrorist attack, the relationship between India and Pakistan is now very sour.

Many people are thinking that there might be no Pakistani players playing in the Indian Premier League this season. The main reason for their suspicion is that India has cancelled the proposed tour to Pakistan because of security reasons and political tension. So, I will not be too much shocked if there is absence of any Pakistani player in IPL 2009. Ofcourse it is not a good thing for world cricket and political tension can create a lot of problem for IPL. However, it is a political matter and it depends on the politicians. So, there is nothing Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or Indian Cricket League (ICL) organizers can do because ICL organizers are expecting the same thing that there would be no Pakistani team like Lahore Badshah in Indian Cricket League this season.

(This entry was originally published on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009)