A number of Indian Premier League franchises have invested in teams in the upcoming UAE International League T20 as well as the Cricket South Africa's inaugural T20 league. The Mumbai Indians franchise has even confirmed a series of players for their team in the UAE league. While there were players from all major cricket-playing nations, none from Pakistan is yet to feature in the league. The country's former captain Salman Butt, however, is not surprised at the exclusion.
Talking about the absence of Pakistan cricketers, Butt pointed out that since IPL franchises have invested in the clubs across both leagues in the UAE and South Africa, he didn't expect players from the country to feature.
“Did you expect Pakistan players to play? I didn't expect it at all. It wasn't the Emirates airlines that anyone can travel there. Who bought the teams? All owners are from IPL franchises. Why will they buy Pakistan players then? Everyone knows that they don't pick Pakistan players. What's surprising in that?” said Butt.
“We played PSL earlier as well, and will continue to play that. In the rest, PCB doesn't allow to play. It is not a big issue. Yes, it could've been an opportunity. It has been going on for long that they don't play Pakistan anywhere other than ICC tournaments and they don't pick Pakistan players, so there is no point hoping.”
{{/usCountry}}“We played PSL earlier as well, and will continue to play that. In the rest, PCB doesn't allow to play. It is not a big issue. Yes, it could've been an opportunity. It has been going on for long that they don't play Pakistan anywhere other than ICC tournaments and they don't pick Pakistan players, so there is no point hoping.”
{{/usCountry}}Butt, however, also stated that it doesn't matter much even if Pakistan players aren't picked to play in these leagues, insisting that the country's performances in international cricket have improved despite their absence in the Indian Premier League.
“They do whatever they can for the betterment of players. Pakistan players played in IPL in 2008; since then, they won the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy. We won against India in the World Cup as well. So, it didn't really impact our health at all. Our player is no.1 in two formats, Imam is second in ODIs. So, good things are happening,” said Butt.