Pakistani cricketers’ participation in the next edition of the Indian Premier League has almost become a joke for now.
First, it was the Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ejaz Butt, who had met Lalit Modi in the month of October to request him to include the Pakistanis in the tournament. Then, he requested him to postpone the deadline for them to be able to get NOCs to play in the tournament, followed by the Parliament deeming the NOCs as illegal. Once the NOCs were approved, there was another extension in the deadline, as the visas were not obtained for the Pakistani cricketers, and Lalit Modi had to finally say that that the deadline had been passed and given that the visas had not yet been approved, the IPL will go ahead without any Pakistani player.
Then, Shahid Afridi came out with a statement saying that he expected the Indians to be more positive in helping them out play in the tournament, because, he thought that Pakistan had always supported India. He was probably joking or had not read his cricket history while making this statement!
In the mean time, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan has said that the visas had not been denied, only delayed by one or two days. They also said that they were not informed of any deadlines and hence it was difficult for them to arrange for the visas at such a short notice.
This would have come out as relieving news for the Pakistani cricket board chief, as he then seemed to have contacted Modi yet again; prompting him to say, “We are hopeful that the visas will come through in a day or two and are very hopeful that Pakistan’s players will be in the next IPL.”
It has also been said that Butt had taken up the case with his government officials to go through proper channels and find a way in which the Pakistani cricketers would be able to participate in the Indian Premier League. After all, in Afridi’s words, the IPL will be poorer place in terms of attractiveness and quality of cricket without the presence of Pakistani cricketers.
I wonder whether that is really the case. How many of you actually think that without Pakistani cricketers, the IPL will suffer? And how many of you WANT Pakistani cricketers to play in the IPL?
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