BCCI bars Pakistani players from IPL

By Abhishek Manroa

NEW DELHI, India (TheSportsNEXT) December 6, 2012: Bilateral cricket ties between bitter neighbors Pakistan and India may be reviving but the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is not ready to have Pakistani cricketers in its cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL).

According to local media reports, the IPL Governing Council has ordered the franchises not to pick Pakistani players in the auction to be held in January.

Pakistani players participated in the inaugural edition of IPL but since then they have been put out of the event. Sohail Tanvir was declared Bowler of the IPL-I while Shahid Afridi was one of the most popular cricketers in the event.

Officially the matter of including or not including Pakistani players in the upcoming edition of the IPL has been postponed till the next meeting of the IPL Governing Council which includes its chairman Rajiv Shukla, Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shastri, Anirudh Chaudhary, and MP Pandove.

Since playing the first edition, Pakistani players have been refused to participate in the cash-rich league and only former Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood was part of the Kings XI Punjab but only as a British national.

The latest development may shock a number of Pakistani players who were hoping to be part of the IPL riches this season. Most of the Pakistani cricketers including Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Tanvir, and others have reportedly talked about playing the IPL in great enthusiasm.