For greater than a decade, Pakistan gamers have remained absent from the Indian Premier League (IPL). The final cricketer from Pakistan to characteristic within the match was allrounder Azhar Mahmood, who performed within the league between 2012 and 2015, though he did so after coming into the public sale as an English participant. His look got here years after the participation of Pakistan cricketers ended within the IPL following the 2008 Mumbai terror assault.The dialogue round Pakistan gamers and franchise leagues returned not too long ago after thriller spinner Abrar Ahmed was picked by Sunrisers Leeds in the course of the participant public sale of The Hundred. The franchise, owned by the Chennai-based Solar Group, paid GBP 190000 (Rs 2.34 crore roughly) after a bidding contest with Trent Rockets. With that transfer, Ahmed grew to become the primary Pakistani participant to be signed by an Indian-owned franchise within the match.His signing additionally ended hypothesis that Indian-owned groups in The Hundred would keep away from Pakistan gamers, much like what has occurred within the IPL since 2009 attributable to strained diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan gamers in IPL

The primary season of the IPL in 2008 included a number of Pakistani cricketers, together with Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, and Sohail Tanvir. The match noticed gamers from each nations share dressing rooms and compete within the new T20 league.Shahid Afridi performed for Deccan Chargers, whereas quick bowler Shoaib Akhtar represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Misbah-ul-Haq was a part of the squad of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).Amongst them, it was quick bowler Sohail Tanvir who left the largest mark. Taking part in for Rajasthan Royals (RR), who gained the league in 2008, Tanvir completed the season with 22 wickets and claimed the Purple Cap for the best variety of wickets within the match. His greatest efficiency got here towards Chennai Tremendous Kings (CSK) when he returned figures of 6/14.Nonetheless, the state of affairs modified after the 2008 Mumbai terror assaults. Following the assaults, political ties between India and Pakistan had been suspended. Later, Pakistan additionally barred its gamers from travelling to India for the IPL, citing safety issues.On the time, a number of franchises expressed disappointment over the absence of Pakistani gamers from the league.Pleasure Bhattacharya, who was the then workforce chief of the KKR, mentioned the workforce would miss the gamers from Pakistan. Akhtar, Umar Gul, Salman Butt and Mohammad Hafeez had all represented the franchise in 2008.“We had been like a household. Shoaib and Umar usually are not solely good cricketers however common amongst their team-mates as properly on the Knight Riders. We are going to absolutely miss them quite a bit,” he had mentioned.Related views had been shared by Amrit Mathur, who was then the chief government of Delhi Daredevils.“We’re going to miss the Pakistani gamers as a result of they had been key members of our workforce,” Mathur had mentioned.What was initially anticipated to be a short lived break changed into an extended absence. Over time, acquiring No-Objection Certificates from the Pakistan Cricket Board grew to become troublesome. On the identical time, IPL franchises had been hesitant to bid for gamers who won’t obtain visas to journey to India.

Azhar Mahmood: Final Pakistan participant in IPL

Whereas Pakistan gamers have largely stayed away from the IPL since 2009, Azhar Mahmood did seem within the league for 3 seasons between 2012 and 2015.Mahmood performed for Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) within the 2012 and 2013 seasons and later represented KKR within the 2015 season.Nonetheless, Mahmood didn’t enter the league as a Pakistani participant. After transferring to the UK and acquiring a British passport, he registered for the IPL public sale as an English participant.A right-arm fast-bowling allrounder, Mahmood performed 23 IPL matches throughout three seasons. He took 29 wickets whereas conceding runs at an economic system price of seven.82. With the bat, he scored 388 runs at a strike price of 128.05.Mahmood stays the final Pakistan-born cricketer to characteristic within the IPL, though he did in order a British citizen.In 2010, there was a quick second when Pakistan gamers returned to the IPL public sale record. A number of main gamers from the nation had been included within the public sale pool. Nonetheless, no franchise positioned a bid on any of them. The episode later got here to be described as a “silent snub” and it successfully confirmed that the IPL had moved on from signing Pakistan cricketers.Since then, the absence of Pakistan gamers from the IPL has continued. Mahmood’s look within the match stays the ultimate occasion of a Pakistan-born cricketer taking the sphere within the league, marking the tip of a brief chapter that started within the first season of the IPL in 2008.