Nationality of cricketers should not matter in the Indian Premier League and franchises should be allowed to pick best players from around the globe, feels KKR CEO Joy Bhattacharya, who recently signed an MoU with rookie Pakistan pacer Muhammad Irfan.
"It shouldn't matter which country they belong to. But we want to be in a position where we can sign on the best available players," Bhattacharya told the Geo Super channel last night.
Kolkata Knight Riders recently entered into an MoU with Irfan who is yet to play for Pakistan after watching him bowl in a couple of practice matches in Sri Lanka.
Irfan was invited to play in Sri Lanka by the KKR management on the recommendation of former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, who is on the coaching staff of the team.
The KKR CEO, however, said that although the franchise had entered into an agreement with Irfan but his participation in the fourth edition of the IPL was totally dependent on the official rules and regulations of the league.
"We have signed an MoU with Irfan but so far the IPL franchises have not been told about any policy regarding participation of Pakistani players in the IPL," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"We have signed an MoU with Irfan but so far the IPL franchises have not been told about any policy regarding participation of Pakistani players in the IPL," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board felt that there were bright chances of Pakistani players finally playing again in the IPL next year because of some significant changes in the management of the IPL.
"For one Lalit Modi is no longer on the IPL management board and he played an instrumental role in including our players names for the players auction this year and then influencing the franchises to ignore them completely," a source said.