Cable operators' association in Pakistan set to boycott IPL

Cable operators' association in Pakistan set to boycott Indian Premier League

Cable operators' association in Pakistan set to boycott Indian Premier League

There was an outpour of strong reactions in many parts of Pakistan yesterday after Pakistani cricketers were ignored in the player auction of the Indian Premier League.

A file picture of Pakistani fans watching the India vs Pakistan World T20 final which India won in Johannesburg, 2007. PIC/AFP

Reactions came from government officials, the Pakistan Cricket Board, players and the general public in what many perceive as a planned strategy to humiliate Pakistani cricketers and the country by the IPL.

"We will boycott the telecast of IPL matches this year. No cable operator in the country will air the action as a show of solidarity," said a spokesman of the All Pakistan Cable Operators' Association.

The announcement by the association is significant as 80 per cent of television viewers depend entirely on cable operators for their daily television dose.

Even on the streets and in offices, the discussion mainly centered around the way Pakistani players were snubbed in the IPL auction. There was also a strong reaction from the Chairman of the PCB, Ejaz Butt, who told the media in Lahore that Lalit Modi let him down badly.

Clearance
"The efforts we made to get government clearance and visas for our players was because Modi had assured me the IPL would welcome our players," Butt said.

"Had we known that this was the way they would treat our players, we would never have bothered to go to such lengths to get clearance for our players to play in the IPL," he said.

Butt was upset that despite trying to get in touch with Modi, he had not got a response from the IPL commissioner. "I have been trying to call him for last two hours and he is not responding to my calls, but we will be taking up this matter at the highest level," he said.

Pakistan's federal minister for sports, Ali Ejaz Jakhrani said the government would look into the matter.

'I can't accept the fact that when 11 of our best players were available in the auction, no franchise took interest in them. It all seems a conspiracy to me and it does not help improve relations between the two countries," Jakhrani said.

He said the snub to Pakistani cricketers was an insult to the Pakistani people as well.

"If they (IPL) didn't want our players to play in the IPL for whatever reason, they should have been clear about it and not staged this drama," he said.

Jakhrani said the government only gave clearance to the players after the PCB assured them the IPL franchises were keen on signing on Pakistani players this year.