Uncertainty over the availability of the cricketers was the primary cause for not a single Pakistani player being signed by franchises in the auction ahead of IPL Season-III held in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Informed sources said the franchises were apprehensive of the Pakistani cricketers not receiving visas from the Indian government. Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have been strained following the terror strikes in Mumbai in November 2008. Several prominent players did not find any takers. There were 11 cricketers from Pakistan in the fray, and several franchises, who believed in their ability, were held back by other concerns.
The list from Pakistan included several reputed or in-form cricketers: Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Mohammed Aamer, Umar Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Imran Nazir and Abdul Razzaq.
And Pakistan, powered by Afridi, Gul and Aamer, had triumphed in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England.
The Pakistani cricketers have reacted with shock and anger. Afridi has called it a snub to his nation.
Pakistan’s Federal Sports Minister Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani clarified the cricketers had received political and security clearance from the Ministries of Sports, Interior and Foreign Affairs.
If cricketers from Pakistan were not going to be picked by any of the franchises, why were they a part of the auction? According to IPL rules, at least one franchise has to display interest in a particular cricketer for him to be included in the bidding list. And the final list of Pakistani cricketers was cleared on January 6. There is, however, a feeling that the situation could have been handled better. If doubts persisted over the availability of the Pakistani cricketers, they could have been left out of the bidding pool and the reasons could have been made clear.
The Pakistani cricketers did not feature in the second edition of the IPL in South Africa either.
