New Delhi: “Several million” cricket lovers would be happy in India if Pakistani players played for the Indian Premier League (IPL). And Home Minister P Chidambaram would be one such fan.
Chidambaram on Thursday said that Pakistani players still have a chance to play at the IPL is a “good beginning”
"I am speaking as a cricket lover. What I see on the television seems to be a good beginning," said Chidambaram when he was asked to comment on a statement by the IPL that Pakistani cricketers still have a chance to be part of the glitzy sporting event.
Chidambaram's remarks came amid reports that Abdul Razzaq is being roped in by one of the IPL franchisees. "Even if three, four or five Pakistani cricketers eventually play in some matches of IPL, I, and several million cricket lovers would be happy," Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi.
Chidambaram on Monday criticised the IPL for ignoring Pakistani players, terming their exclusion "a disservice to cricket" and maintaining that the government had no role in it.
Lamenting the exclusion, he had described some of the players as "among the best Twenty20", and said: "These players were coming as individuals, it was not a Pakistan team."
"I think it is disservice to cricket that some of these players were not picked. I don t know why the IPL teams acted in the manner they acted. But certainly to suggest that there was a hint or nudge from the government is completely untrue," he said.
After Chidambaram's remarks, IPL chief Lalit Modi said: "some teams have still not finished their quota of players and some players could drop out, franchisees can choose Pakistani players as replacements or to fill vacancies."
All the 11 Pakistani players went unsold at the IPL auction earlier this month and Modi said it was the franchisees' decision to not pick them.
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