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| India-Pakistan |
| India cold shoulders Pakistan as harsh reality bites the IPL auction |
| 2010-01-19 |
| If you're Mohammad Kaif, a lottery ticket would be a smart move, while Damien Martyn could do worse than contemplate the tables at Bellagio or Caesar's Palace. Neither man has played international cricket for more than three years, and Kaif's performances in the inaugural Indian Premier League -- he didn't even make the Rajasthan Royals squad for the second season in South Africa -- were as ordinary as Martyn's brief flirtation with the nearly forgotten Indian Cricket League. The Royals, captained and coached by Shane Warne, bought out Kaif's $675,000 (£412,000) contract before the auction to free up the space that they then filled with the classy 38-year-old batsman who was once Warne's brother in baggy-green arms. If that raised eyebrows, there was bemusement when Kings XI Punjab, who have appointed Kumar Sangakkara as captain in place of Yuvraj Singh, splashed out $250,000 for Kaif, whose batting is usually conspicuously devoid of the power and pizzazz associated with Twenty20 cricket. Many of the headlines in England on Wednesday will focus on the lack of interest in Graeme Swann, but the Twitter-friendly off-spinner's IPL tale is far from over. The auction represents only the most high-profile route into the league. There are other ways. Both the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings have injured players that they can replace before the action begins on 12 March. In Mumbai's case, they will have only the $100,000 that they spent on Kyle Mills last season, but Chennai have a whopping $1.55 million to draw on, having seen Andrew Flintoff go under the surgeon's knife yet again. Don't be surprised to see Swann or Doug Bollinger, another who attracted no interest, fielding a few calls from agents over the coming days. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #4 These are hard nosed business men trying to build the kind of brand recognition and loyalty the likes of Manchester United enjoys. They are interested in whether a player will enhance their brand value and/or increase their market reach. Pakistanis fail on both counts. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2010-01-19 21:10 |
| #3 Pakistanis are persona non grata I like the sound of that. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-01-19 21:01 |
| #2 Many died at the same hotel where the auction was held during the Mumbai attacks. It is no surprise that Pakistanis are persona non grata. |
| Posted by: john frum 2010-01-19 20:14 |
| #1 English soccer is hugely popular across much of Asia, which is why english teams field, Korean and Japanese players, and the IPL plans to do the same with cricket. The issue here is that Pakistan closes itself off to Indian businesses and then are (apparently) surprised when Indian businesses are not interested in Pakistan. The development has drawn sharp criticism in Pakistan. Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, the federal sports minister, said he had complained to his Indian counterpart over the incident. "I have phoned the sports minister of India and recorded a protest over the unjust and discriminatory treatment meted out to the Pakistani cricketers," |
| Posted by: phil_b 2010-01-19 19:30 |