It was one heck of IPL auction, asn't it? Even with reduced prices, this auction had all the bumper masala. For one, ICL players coming to IPL, for those who just came back from hibernation, ICl was a break away T20 league, set up by Zee Tv CEO, which ended last season, and players who were playing in ICL were also banned from playing in their international teams for te period of 2 or may be 3 years.
Shane bond, even after a long long long lay off, and such injury laden career, got quite a bid, on the other hand, biggest shock, none of the Pakistani player even received a bid.
The reaction was immediate and emotionally charged. Afridi, who was billed as one of the major attractions of Tuesday’s auction, said from Brisbane that he was disappointed and upset with the way things panned out. ‘‘ The way I see it, the IPL and India have made fun of us and our country by treating us this way,’’ Afridi said.
Senior all-rounder Abdul Razzaq said he saw the snub to Pakistani players as a conspiracy between the IPL and the Indian government to insult Pakistani players . ‘‘ They have basically tried to hurt our cricket and image and this is most disappointing because I believe there should be no politics in sports,’’ he said.
All-rounder Sohail Tanvir, one of the stars of Rajasthan Royals’ IPL winning team in 2008, was no less bitter: ‘‘ We sent names because we thought the franchises wanted us, but if it is all about politics and security they should be clear about it,’’ Tanvir said.
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If India doesn´t want Pakistanis then what is Wasim Akram doing in KKR?
Finally some light is shed on this murky matter!
http://www.cricdb.com/archive/international/news/detail.php?nid=2728
Rajasthan Royals' co-owner Shilpa Shetty and co-owner of Kings XI Punjab Preity Zinta have revealed that they were threatened into snubbing Pakistani cricketers at the auction for the third edition of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).
According to a report by an Australian publication 'The Age', Shetty told India's 'Mid-Day' that threats were made against her team and any subsequent Pakistan cricketer picked by her franchise. “You must look at it pragmatically and see that we have had these people who are constantly threatening,” Rajasthan co-owner Shetty told Indian publication Mid-Day. “It's not something we hold against the Pakistani players.”
“We completely understand the situation but as franchise owners are we willing to take that risk? If something happens to the Pakistani players, the onus lies on us and who is going to take responsibility for a situation like that?
“When we said 'availability', we wanted complete assurance that those players would be available in the country and that we were going to be able to provide security for them,” she added.
Zinta, reportedly told an Indian-language TV channel: “We would have loved to have the T20 world champions in our teams to bring real joy to the extravaganza but what can we do if we have certain threats about not (only) our own safety but the safety of the Pakistani players too, with no official quarter assuring us of foolproof security of players during the tournament?”
Pakistan's Daily Mail reported the threats were made by Shiv Sena and Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). It also claimed IPL commissioner Lalit Modi was threatened by Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray to ensure Pakistan players were not selected, without quoting either man or their spokespeople. IPL commissioner said security measures will be put in place to protect Australian IPL players who have been threatened by Sena.
The report comes just as Darren Berry, former Australia first-class cricketer and a member of the Rajasthan Royals coaching staff, revealed that teenage Pakistani batsman Umar Akmal was the Royals top pick for this season’s IPL auction and was surprised at the omission.
He wrote: “After spending the past two weeks in India preparing for the Indian Premier League in March, I am staggered at the recent treatment of the Pakistan players. I agree with Shahid Afridi that he and his countrymen were humiliated in the IPL auction in Mumbai last week. …I do not have all the information - and possibly never will as this was a very delicate issue played out behind the scenes.
“However, I do know - due to my coaching role with the Rajasthan Royals - that a few weeks ago Umar Akmal was No. 1 priority on the Royals' shopping list. All of a sudden he was not available. As the auction unfolded live on TV in India, it became evident that it wasn't just Umar Akmal who was in the no-go zone, but all of the Pakistan players. The press in India asked plenty of questions but got few straight answers.”
This has really turned around for us, suddenly the egg is on our face, as Indians. Now everyone seems to be backing off, they should have been selected, but I am still glad that they were not. no problems with Pakistani people, strength to them, but their govt is such that there will be tensions again real soon, and then all of us will lose.
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