The Mumbai terrorist attacks of November 26, 2008 had sent ripples across the country. The diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated, not for the first time in history. This had a direct impact on the Indian Premier League as well. No Pakistani cricketer has played in the IPL since then. Eleven Pakistani cricketers – Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, and Sohail Tanvir – had been part of the 2008 IPL. Tanvir had even won the Purple Cap. IPL Controversies- Part 1: Indian Premier League 'Kills' Indian Cricket League in 2008.

None of them – or any other Pakistani – played in the IPL again. Since then, Pakistan have toured India, in 2012/13, to play bilateral ODI and T20I series, but their players have not been part of the IPL. Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shah Rukh expressed his willingness to see Pakistani cricketers back in the IPL; he was heavily criticised by the Shiv Sena.

However, the Knight Riders hired Wasim Akram as bowling coach the same year. Sourav Ganguly, who, as captain, had wanted Wasim to become the bowling coach of the Indian national side, played a part in Wasim’s apartment. Wasim also got a KKR deal for Mohammad Irfan, though that did not materialise. IPL Controversies- Part 2: Slapgate Incident Involving Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth in 2008.

In 2012, Kings XI Punjab signed up former Pakistan cricketer Azhar Mahmood, who had become a British citizen the previous year. Mahmood played 22 times for Punjab across 2012 and 2013. In 2015, he made an appearance for Kolkata.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2021 03:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).