Deshmukh sees nothing wrong in Pakistanis playing in IPL

A day after Shiv Sena targeted Bollywood superstar and co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders Shah Rukh Khan for regretting exclusion of Pakistani players from IPL season three, Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday said there is nothing wrong if Pakistani players play in Twenty-20 event.

A day after Shiv Sena targeted Bollywood superstar and co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders Shah Rukh Khan for regretting exclusion of Pakistani players from IPL season three, Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Saturday said there is nothing wrong if Pakistani players play in Twenty-20 event.

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"Indian Premier League (IPL) is a business and the franchisee holders are free to select players from any country, including Pakistan. Government has not set any condition for the inclusion of the players," Deshmukh, minister for Heavy Industries, told reporters on sidelines of a function in Ausa tehsil here.

Asked about the agitation by Shiv Sena against Shah Rukh Khan, he said "It is not wrong to include players from Pakistan or any county in the IPL teams. It is a business. Shiv Sena has no issue left so it has taken up the issue of Shah Rukh Khan. Sports should be considered as sports and there should be no politics in it. No player has any religion."

Deshmukh said the proposal of hosting Commonwealth Games in Mumbai was rejected by his council of ministers as the government coffers were in a "sorry" state.