ISLAMABAD: Former Indian and Australian cricketers have named Pakistani star players skipper Babar Azam, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, and opener Mohammad Rizwan as potential top picks for the Indian Premier League (IPL) “in a perfect world.”
Trading of Cricketers
The deterioration of relations between Pakistan and India has forced the two countries to cancel all bilateral cricket matches. The arch-rivals only play each other in multi-team tournaments and do not trade cricketers in their respective league cricket tournaments, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
According to India Today’s Tom Moody, signing Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, a two-time PSL champion who currently plays Nottinghamshire in the T20 Blast, would be a “box office” deal for any IPL franchise.
The veteran Australian cricketer, who formerly worked as the head coach of the IPL’s Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), stated that a number of Pakistani cricketers, including skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shadab Khan, have the potential to attract lucrative deal to part in IPL.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Manjrekar believes that IPL teams should consider Pakistani paceman Haris Rauf because he is a great player. He also lauded Pakistani power-hitter Fakhar Zaman for his service to the IPL.
Furthermore, Manjrekar said that Mohammad Rizwan might be dangerous to opponents when batting with Babar. He went on to say that Rizwan plays the role of an anchor.
Several Pakistani cricketers, including Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Akhtar, and Kamran Akmal, participated in the very first season of the IPL, but no player has gone since 2009 due to strained relations between Islamabad and New Delhi.
