Pakistan captain Younus Khan believes his country's players received a raw deal from the lucrative Indian Premier League.
Pakistan captain Younus Khan believes his country's players received a raw deal from the lucrative Indian Premier League.
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Of the 11 players who had signed up for the IPL in the inaugural year, Deccan Chargers' Shahid Afridi was the most expensive at US dollars 675,000.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had fetched the top price of USD 1.5 million at the inaugural auction last year, but that figure was surpassed by England's Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff who both sold at a price tag of USD 1.55 million apiece for the second edition auction earlier this week.
Younus, along with five other Pakistani players - Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Afridi, Salman Butt and Mohammed Hafeez - had their contracts terminated after the Pakistan government refused to grant them permission to travel to India due to political and diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Four others had their contracts suspended.
Younus said the demand for England's players had risen steeply because they had avoided the inaugural edition of the IPL.
"Unlike most of the other countries, Pakistan players had rushed to get into the IPL and got a raw deal," Younus said.
"Look at Sohail Tanvir. He was bought for USD 100,000 (by Rajasthan Royals) and he was the best bowler in the first season.
"Even Indian fringe players had fetched higher prices than someone like Misbah-ul Haq, who was the best batsman in the twenty20 format last year.
"The demand for England's players increased only because they had not participated in the IPL last year."
Younus, however, admitted that England's players were most suited for this format of the game.
"English players are comparatively thought to be better twenty20 cricketers because they first started this format at the domestic level," he added.
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