Former India batsman Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Pakistani players will soon start playing for Indian employers once again. At present, all the bilateral relation between India and Pakistan is suspended due to political reasons.
Both the teams have not played a bilateral series against each other since Pakistan visited India in early 2013 for a short series. Apart from the suspension of the bilateral series, the Pakistani players are also not allowed to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Pakistani players featured in the tournament just once in 2008 before the terrorist attack in Mumbai prompted the Indian government to ban the Pakistanis from IPL.
Pakistani players to play for Indian employers:
After a long gap of more than a decade, the Pakistani players are looking set to play for Indian employers once again. Aakash Chopra pointed it out while speaking in reference to the upcoming UAE and CSA T20 leagues. All six teams in the South African T20 league have been purchased by IPL franchise owners.
The owners of Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) have also bought teams in the UAE league – International League T20 (ILT20) – that will start next year. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said:
“Pakistani players are banned in the IPL, but they play in all the other T20 leagues. So since Indian franchise owners have bought teams in other leagues, they will be hiring Pakistan players as well. This is also going to happen. So, Pakistani players are soon going to play for Indian employers once again.”
Since the suspension of the bilateral ties, India and Pakistan have played against each other only in ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup. They last played against each other in last year’s T20 World Cup and are likely to be up against each other this month when the Asia Cup 2022 gets underway.