India great Sunil Gavaskar claims Sunrisers Leeds' signing of Pakistan player Abrar Ahmed for England's The Hundred tournament will “indirectly contribute to the deaths of Indian soldiers and civilians.”
The organizer of the The Hundred, the England and Wales Cricket Board, was warned last month that the four Indian-owned franchises would freeze out Pakistan players at the auction last week, similar to a ban in place in India since 2009.
Political tensions between India and Pakistan have reduced cricket contact between them to only major tournaments for more than a decade.
The ECB threatened “robust action” against any discrimination over a player's nationality, and would have welcomed the signing of Abrar for 190,000 pounds ($253,000) by Sunrisers Leeds, who were owned by the Sun Group, who also control Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.
Abrar was one of two Pakistan men's players bought at auction. Fellow bowler Usman Tariq was hired by Birmingham Phoenix, not an Indian-owned team.
It was the first time an IPL owner picked up a Pakistan player in a league outside India, and Gavaskar reacted in his column in Indian newspaper Mid-Day.
“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 wrote.
“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."
Sunrisers Leeds coach Daniel Vettori says he wasn’t given any instructions to avoid specific players at The Hundred auction. The bidding was led by Kaviya Maran, the daughter of Kalanithi Maran, who founded the Sun Group.
Gavaskar also criticized Kaviya.
“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,” he wrote. “There’s still time to undo the wrong and hopefully wiser counsels will prevail.”
Both nations have not played a men's bilateral cricket series since 2013 when Pakistan toured India. Now they refuse to go to each other's country if one is hosting a multi-nation tournament. India has also refused to shake hands with Pakistan players.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
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