New Delhi, January 23: Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan feels that the humiliating treatment meted out to the Twenty20 world champions by the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises in the recently concluded auction was ”a part of a collective decision in retaliation to the Mumbai attacks.”
Reacting to the controversy, Imran said the feeling in Pakistan was that of a ‘collective punishment’ being given to Pakistanis for the Mumbai terror attacks. ”
Considering that Pakistan is the Twenty20 champion and the rating of Pak players like Shahid Afridi is very high, the fact that none of them were considered by IPL is being perceived in Pakistan as a part of a collective decision in retaliation to Mumbai attacks,” the former all-rounder told ‘Headlines Today’.
”Mumbai incident was condemned across the board – somehow since then things have deteriorated on the sports field – we have seen the deterioration,” he added.
”The biggest sufferer of terrorism today is Pakistan. There have been 500 blasts in Pakistan in 2009. Greatest number of suicide attacks in Pakistan. Pakistani government blames India for terror in Balochistan just as Indian government blames Pakistan,” said Imran, who is the founder head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
Imran, who led Pakistan to its only World Cup victory in 1992 at the age of 39, further refused to see the IPL snub to the Pakistani players as an isolated incident.
He felt the IPL controversy was a culmination of a downward slide in relationships between the two neighbors that started after 26/11. With so much of hostility in the air, Imran said it is impossible for Pakistanis to see this as a purely commercial decision.
The 57-year-old former pacer also made a dire prediction, ”Clearly there will be a corresponding desire in Pakistan to get back at India. They will cut down further sporting ties with India.” However, Imran felt that the snub does not augur well for the hockey World Cup next month. ”If true, it will not be a healthy move and urged ‘saner voices in both countries to come forward’.
”What did India expect once the Pakistani players were excluded? It was actually quite humiliating in a lot of ways for the Pakistani cricketers,” he noted.
–Agencies