Pakistani players have been absent from the Indian Premier League (IPL) for more than a decade. The last Pakistani cricketer to feature in the tournament was all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, who played in the league between 2012 and 2015, although he did so after entering the auction as an England player. His appearance came years after the participation of Pakistani cricketers ended in the IPL following the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.The talk of Pakistani players and franchise leagues returned recently after Sunrisers Leeds picked mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed during The Hundred player auction. Owned by Chennai-based Sun Group, the franchise paid £190,000 (approximately Rs 2.34 crore) after a bidding contest with Trent Rockets. The move made Ahmed the first Pakistani player to be signed by an Indian franchise in the tournament.His signing also ended speculation that Indian teams in The Hundred would shun Pakistani players, similar to what has happened in the IPL since 2009 due to strained diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan.
Pakistani players in IPL
The first season of IPL in 2008 featured several Pakistani cricketers including Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir. The tournament saw players from both countries share dressing rooms and compete in a new T20 league.Shahid Afridi played for Deccan Chargers while fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Misbah-ul-Haq was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team.Fast bowler Sohail Tanvir left the biggest mark among them. Tanvir, who played for Rajasthan Royals (RR) who won the league in 2008, finished the season with 22 wickets and won the Purple Cap for the highest wickets in the tournament. His best performance was against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) when he returned figures of 6/14.However, after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008, the situation changed. After the attacks, political ties between India and Pakistan were severed. Later, Pakistan also banned its players from traveling to India for the IPL, citing security concerns.At the time, several franchises expressed disappointment at the absence of Pakistani players from the league.Joy Bhattacharya, who was the team manager of KKR at the time, said that the team will miss players from Pakistan. Akhtar, Umar Gul, Salman Butt and Mohammad Hafeez represented the franchise in 2008.“We were like a family. Shoaib and Umar are not only good cricketers but also popular among their teammates at Knight Riders. We will definitely miss them a lot,” he said.Similar views were shared by Amrit Mathur, who was then the CEO of Delhi Daredevils.“We will miss the Pakistani players as they were key members of our team,” Mathur said.What was originally expected to be a temporary break turned into a long absence. Over time, getting no-objection certificates from the Pakistan Cricket Board became difficult. At the same time, IPL franchises were hesitant to bid for players who would not have to get visas to travel to India.
Azhar Mahmood: Last Pakistani player in IPL
While Pakistani players have largely stayed away from the IPL since 2009, Azhar Mahmood featured in the league for three seasons between 2012 and 2015.Mahmood played for Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in the 2012 and 2013 seasons and later represented KKR in the 2015 season.However, Mahmood did not enter the league as a Pakistani player. After moving to the UK and obtaining a British passport, he registered for the IPL auction as an English player.A right-arm fast bowling all-rounder, Mahmood played 23 IPL matches in three seasons. He took 29 wickets and conceded runs at an economy rate of 7.82. He scored 388 runs with the bat at a strike rate of 128.05.Mahmood remains the last Pakistani-born cricketer to appear in the IPL, although he did so as a British citizen.There was a brief moment in 2010 when Pakistani players returned to the IPL auction list. Several leading players from the country were included in the auction pool. However, no franchise has made a bid for any of them. The episode later came to be described as a “silent insult” and effectively confirmed that the IPL had moved on from signing Pakistani cricketers.Since then, the absence of Pakistani players from the IPL has continued. Mahmood’s appearance in the tournament remains the latest instance of a Pakistan-born cricketer taking the field in the league, marking the end of a short chapter that began in the first season of the IPL in 2008.
