Shahid Afridi expressed his disappointment to PakPassion.net at missing out on an Indian Premier League deal, after no bids were received for him or any of the other Pakistani players that were on the auction player list.

by Saj Sadiq

19th January 2010

Shahid Afridi expressed his disappointment to PakPassion.net at missing out on an Indian Premier League deal, after no bids were received for him or any of the other Pakistani players that were on the auction player list.

"I'm stunned by the omission and yes I'm obviously very disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing once again in the Indian Premier League and testing my skills against the world's best players and against friends and colleagues. I thought I would be picked and am very surprised at the outcome of the auction" stated Afridi who was one of Pakistan's lynchpins as they lifted the Twenty/20 World Cup last year in England.

Shahid Afridi's Manager Umran Khan of Aces Middle East when speaking earlier today to PakPassion.net was scathing of Lalit Modi and the Indian Government. "I'd heard prior to the auction that franchises were being advised not to bid for Pakistani players, as the players from Pakistan would not be issued with visas by the Indian government, and that is precisely what has happened".

Khan continued "The Indian Premier League have been using Afridi's name and pictures to publicise the tournament and to build up the hype and he was expected to be one of the most popular players amongst the franchises".

Khan feels that sport and politics should not mix and feels that is exactly what has occurred in this instance. The IPL this time around could have been a platform to build bridges between India and Pakistan, but sadly that has not taken place "Lalit Modi and the Indian government have a lot to answer for. The way I see it is that because Afridi and the other Pakistani players would have been employed by an Indian company for the IPL, the Indian government wouldn't issue a visa, yet if Shahid was to play for South Australia in the Champions League, they would issue him with a visa, as they did for Yasir Arafat when he played for Sussex in last years Champions League. I think Shahid and the other Pakistani players have been wronged and mistreated here”.