Karachi: Pakistan's players have reacted with anger and disappointment to being cold-shouldered at the IPL auction in Mumbai. Proven Twenty20 performers like Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul were among the 11 Pakistan players on the auction list but none received a bid - largely due to concerns over their availability, though some franchises cited strategic reasons.
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.
Afridi, Pakistan's Twenty20 captain, was the first player up for sale on Tuesday but fetched no bids. He called it a snub to his country. "The way I see it, the IPL and India have made fun of us and our country," he said. "We are the Twenty20 world champions and for me the attitude of the franchises was disappointing. I feel bad for the Indian people who, I am sure, wanted to see us play in the IPL this year."
Abdul Razzaq, the allrounder, said politics and sports should be kept separate. "They have basically tried to hurt our cricket and image and this is most disappointing because I believe there should be no politics in sports," Razzaq was quoted as saying by PTI. "In the end it is the IPL which has lost out because the fact is our players have star value and are the best in T20 cricket."
The Pakistan government had not permitted its players to participate in last year's tournament due to security fears after the Mumbai attacks. Later, when the Pakistan players failed to procure the NOCs, the IPL shut its doors on them for missing out on the December 7 deadline, but relented when Pakistan's interior ministry cleared the players for participation in the IPL.
Tanvir, the best bowler in the inaugural IPL and an instrumental part of the Rajasthan Royals' title win, wondered why so much effort was put into getting the clearance from his country's board and government if none of the franchises wanted to buy Pakistan players. "They mean to say none of our players are good enough to be in the IPL," Tanvir said. "I am sorry to say the franchises have taken a decision not based on cricketing sense but on political grounds which is a shame and has hurt the image of the sport."
Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said the apprehension over the availability of Pakistan players was the main reason for them being unsold. "Franchises are no more ready to spend USD seven or eight million for someone who would not be available for the tournament," he said. "It not only exhausted their purse but also wasted slots. They want only those players who would be available for the tournament. They are spending money and they want to get the results."
However, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, was relatively unfazed. "It really does not bother us; what difference does it make to us if our players don't play in the IPL this season? They didn't play in the last season as well," he said.
Shilpa Shetty, the co-owner of Rajasthan, echoed Modi's words. "We were not convinced about their availability and that's why we did not want to take any risk," she said. "If someone is not going to be available, why bid for him." She also said that though they had watched Tanvir over the past year, they were looking for a batsman.
The co-owner of Kings XI Punjab, Ness Wadia, had a different take, pinning the non-sale of Pakistan players to the lack of open slots for the franchises - 67 players were auctioned for only 13 vacancies. "I do not think that the Pakistan players were ignored purposely," he said. "Many Australian players were too not auctioned. In fact, last year we suffered because of Australia."
Since the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November 2008, political relations between India and Pakistan have been strained, and bilateral cricketing ties have been suspended.
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