Conspiracy theories are still doing the rounds about why the current T20 World Champions -- Pakistan -- were snubbed by the Indian franchisees for the Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 3 at the players' auction.

Pockets do the talking

Conspiracy theories are still doing the rounds about why the current T20 World Championsu00a0-- Pakistanu00a0-- were snubbed by the Indian franchisees for the Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 3 at the players' auction.

While franchisees naturally cite unavailability of Pak players, they were unsure of Pakistan players being able to make the trip as Indo-Pak relations are strained following the 26/11 attacks. Human nature, being what it is, refuses to accept this banal explanation.

Even though it sounds far-fetched, for a nation still hurting after the 26/11 attacks, with its pride severely dented, the snub has had several people puffed up with pride for the IPL franchisees. Nobody would say it openly, as it is not politically correct to do so. Comments on news websites where one can write anonymously or under a false name are full of such sentiment.

The team owners have steered clear of players who may not be able to make it

Given the profile of the auction and the publicity that it generated, it made bigger headlines than Indo-Pak artistes' meet for peace. The auction has punctured the 'we must fight terror together' rhetoric, which was starting to find some resonance a year after the attacks.u00a0

Wild, irresponsible conjecture is blazing amidst the silence of Lalit Modi and Co. Theories like the Pakistan cricketers have funded 26/11 are on the comments' sections of various websites. Other theories are more outrageous, but gleefully espoused u2014 Lalit Modi was to stay at the Taj before it was a target of the 26/11-terror attack. Who cares for sanity when sensationalism is so much more fun?

Yet, wild conjecture is not the domain of India alone. Pakistani players are humiliated and smarting after the rejection. They are reacting a bit like a person led on by somebody and then rejected in a relationship. They have claimed that this has been a 'pre-planned' decision by the IPL and the Indian government. This is India's ploy to humiliate Pakistan, goes the common strident refrain across the border. A Pak politician has even said that India is responsible for the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in their country.

It is obvious that the hard-nosed businessmen these team owners are, have steered clear of players who may not have been able to make it. With India-Pak, things are more uncertain than ever. A clutch of team owners has spawned one of the most contentious debates in cricket by speaking through their pockets.

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