Pakistan cricketers to play for IPL owners again, says THIS former cricketer

Pakistan cricketers are banned from the Indian Premier League since the 26/11 terror attack in India. However, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has pointed out that the Pakistani players will once again be playing under the IPL team owners but not in IPL. Ex-India batsman was referring to the CSA and UAE T20 league where IPL team owners have invested money. All the six teams in the South African T20 league have all been acquired by IPL franchise owners while Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Delhi Capitals (DC) owners have in bought franchises in the upcoming International Competition T20 (ILT20) UAE league. This means that the Pakistani players will be playing under Indian owners.  

The UAE T20 League to take place early 2023 which might clash with the dates of the BBL, BPL, CSA league. Can the UAE T20 league be a threat to the IPL?

Check out Betway here: https://t.co/EbOlL6jGH4 pic.twitter.com/i6th0rzd6m — Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 1, 2022

“Pakistani players are banned in the IPL, but they play in all the other T20 leagues. So since Indian franchise owners have bought teams in other leagues, they will be hiring Pakistan players as well. This is also going to happen. So, Pakistani players are soon going to play for Indian employers once again," Aakash said on his Youtube channel. 

With the new T20 league on the cards, there could be tough competition for IPL. Talking about the UAE T20 league Chopra said," The UAE is the first league in the world that can challenge the IPL. The success matrix as of now is – what is the salary cap of players? How much can you pay the cricketers? Players are commodities. In 2008, when the IPL auction happened, people were thinking – are these cattle being sold? But the reality now is that everyone wants to be sold.”

“The actual corporatization of cricket is happening now and very quickly at that. Something has to give. There are 365 days in a year but cricket equivalent to 700 days is already being played. CSA and UAE are at loggerheads for player acquisition. International cricket is going to take a big hit," the cricketer turned commentator concluded.