In the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pakistan cricketers were allowed to participate in the cash-rich league, but after the 2008 Mumbai Terror attack, the political relations between the two countries turned sour and the players from Pakistan were barred from participating in the IPL.
Since then, the neighboring countries have not played any bilateral series and have played against each other in ICC and Asian cricket council tournaments.
7 Pakistani players namely Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Salman Butt Kamran Akmal, and Sohail Tanvir were part of the inaugural IPL season in IPL 2008. Sohail Tanvir played an instrumental role in helping underdogs Rajasthan Royals Win the 1st edition of the IPL, taking 22 wickets in 11 matches.
The left-arm pacer also had the record of best bowling figures in the IPL taking 6/14 against Chennai Super Kings in 2008. The record was later broken in 2019 by Mumbai Indians pacer Alzarri Joseph when he took 6 wickets for 12 runs in his debut match against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
On that note, let’s look at 3 Pakistan cricketers who could have earned big bucks In IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
#3 Babar Azam
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has impressed one and all with his ability to score runs consistently in his short international career.
Babar played a key role in Pakistan reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021 earlier this year in the UAE. He finished as the highest run-getter with 303 Runs in 6 innings at an average of 60.60.
Under the captaincy of Babar, Azam Pakistan had a dream run in T20I winning 17 out of 20 matches. With age on his side and teams looking to build a team for the next 5 years, Babar Azam could have earned big bucks at the auction
#2 Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen Afridi had a fruitful T20 World Cup. He led Pakistan’s bowling single-handedly against arch-rivals India picking up three crucial wickets to derail India’s top-order.
The left-arm fast bowler can swing the ball both ways and is a wicket-taking bowler. He has an impressive record in the shortest format with 143 wickets under his belt from 105 matches with the best figures of 6/19.
With teams looking for Overseas fast bowlers, the franchises could have broken the bank by adding Shaheen into their squad.
#1 Mohammad Rizwan
Rizwan had a dream run in 2021 as he finished with 1326 runs under his belt from 29 outings at an average of 73.66, including a century and 12 fifties. In the process, he has scaled a plethora of records in the shortest format of the game.
For teams looking for an aggressive opener, Rizwan could have perfectly fit the bill. Besides, he can also don the wicket-keeping gloves giving a side a much-required balance.
Moreover, Rizwan could have been a good captaincy option having led his PSL franchise Multan Sultan to PSL 2021 title.
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