Gavaskar slams Indian T20 franchise owners for picking Pakistani player

Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has sharply criticised the acquisition of a Pakistani player, Abrar Ahmed, by an Indian company, saying the fees contribute to casualties of Indian soldiers and civilians.

This strong reaction came following SunRisers Leeds, whose parent company is Indian-owned (Kavya Maran), led to an outcry across the nation. Abrar Ahmed was picked at a cost of 190,000 GBP during the inaugural men’s Hundred auction in London. The backlash was huge, with the SunRisers Leeds’ social media account getting temporarily suspended. The SunRisers owners also have SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL and the SunRisers Eastern Cape in SA20.

Not mincing words, Gavaskar said in a column, “The furore created by the acquisition of a Pakistani player by the Indian owner of a franchise in The Hundred is hardly surprising. Ever since the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, Indian franchise owners have simply ignored Pakistani players for the IPL.

Although belated, the realisation that the fees that they pay to a Pakistani player, who then pays income tax to his government, which buys arms and weapons, indirectly contributes to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians, is making Indian entities refrain from even considering having Pakistani artistes and sportspersons.”

He also said, “Whether it is an Indian entity or an overseas subsidiary of the entity that is making the payment, if the owner is Indian, then he or she is contributing to the Indian casualties. It’s as simple as that.

Daniel Vettori, the coach of the team in The Hundred who hails from New Zealand, may not understand this simple dynamic and so may have wanted some Pakistani players in his team, but surely the owner should have had an understanding of the situation and discouraged the purchase. Is winning a tournament in a format that no other country plays in much more important than Indian lives?”

Gavaskar said that fans may boycott the side. “It won’t be a surprise that for every game that this team plays, whether at home or away, there will be massive demonstrations by Indian fans protesting at this hard-to-believe buying. In fact, it won’t be a surprise that despite having some of the most attractive stroke makers in their team, the crowds may stay away and show their disapproval of the decision,” he added. “There’s still time to undo the wrong and hopefully wiser counsels will prevail,” the Indian cricket great said.

Pakistan players are barred from the IPL. They only played in the inaugural 2008 edition. After that, the terror attack in Mumbai led to stringent action being taken against the presence of Pakistanis in the IPL.

Meanwhile, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)Vice-President Rajeev Shukla recently said the Board cannot intervene as the signing is related to a foreign league and the franchise will have to take a call.