Pak cricketers to miss IPL again following omission from fourth edition auction list

NEW DELHI - Pakistan cricketers continue to miss out on the Indian Premier League (IPL) bonanza, as none of them were included in the auction list for next year’s mega event, according to organisers.

No Pakistan player featured in a list of 416 players, whose services will be auctioned in Bangalore on January 8 and 9 for the fourth edition of the tournament, which is to be held in April and May.

An IPL official revealed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had not forwarded any names for the January auction.

“The rules stipulate that a player must apply through his home board if he wanted to be put up for the auction. No names were received from Pakistan,” The Nation quoted the official, as telling a news agency.

It is noteworthy that no Pakistani player was included in the last edition of IPL as well. Pakistani cricketers had taken part in the inaugural IPL in 2008, but were forced out of the 2009 edition due to security concerns in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, and were then ignored for the 2010 tournament.

Scheduled to run from April 8 to May 22, the tournament’s fourth edition will be the first without the IPL’s chief architect, Lalit Modi, who was thrown out by the Indian board over accusations about his conduct.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has registered a criminal case against Modi for misappropriation of 4.68 billion rupees (106 million dollars), and he also faces a government probe over alleged financial irregularities. (ANI)