IPL will lose fans if Pakistan players stay away

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Pakistan players taking part in the Indian Premier league have been asked to sign consent forms that would enable franchisees to put them on sale in the transfer market. More... Pakistan's IPL players may be put on sale Pakistan players taking part in the Indian Premier league have been asked to sign consent forms that would enable franchisees to put them on sale in the transfer market. "Some of these players have been told by their IPL team management that it would be unlikely they would be able to get clearance to play the next season," a source close to the players told PTI. "Some players have been told they would need to sign consent forms which would allow the teams to make them available on the transfer market," the source added. With the current tension in India-Pakistan ties, it was highly unlikely any team would bid for them and sign them once they are released by their original teams. The source said the consent form would be needed because players usually had three-year contracts with the IPL and were unlikely to suffer major financial setbacks even if they don't play in the Twenty20 tournament. "But given the circumstances in India it would be diplomatically and politically a problem for Indians to have Pakistan players in the IPL next season until the situation improves," the source said. Top Pakistan players have contracts with the IPL including captain Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Younis Khan, Salman Butt and others. Sources said Pakistan players were also aware of the situation and some of them had even started exploring the possibility of playing for English county teams this summer.

[Rajiv]

So what teams will suffer? How did pakis fare for thier respective teams Mumbai was totally pak-free

[ludhianvi]

:omg: is this for real???

[nospam]

can't wait for Bumper's next article - PCB/Pakistan team up for sale...

[zubinpepsi]

So what teams will suffer? How did pakis fare for thier respective teams Mumbai was totally pak-free

kolkatta.. :hysterical::hysterical:

[Ram]

Our fight is with the militants and the Pakistani govt. that is refusing to take them on. What do Pakistani players have to do with this I quite dont understand. Isnt this one of the greatest ironies... We give multi-million contracts to guys like Symonds, Hayden and Punter who've all openly expressed opinions against many of our current players and yet ditch out second class treatment to Pakistani players, most of whom have got nothing whatsoever with the Mumbai carnage. Our decision to cancel the tour of Pakistan was 100% the right one. There is no way our cricketers can particiapte in any tournament that had the blessing of the Pak. govt., a govt. that openly sponsors terrorism on Indian soil, but why would we over-react and act against individual Pakistani players who have commercial interests in India?

[Bumper]

Our fight is with the militants and the Pakistani govt. that is refusing to take them on. What do Pakistani players have to do with this I quite dont understand. Isnt this one of the greatest ironies... We give multi-million contracts to guys like Symonds, Hayden and Punter who've all openly expressed opinions against many of our current players and yet ditch out second class treatment to Pakistani players, most of whom have got nothing whatsoever with the Mumbai carnage. Our decision to cancel the tour of Pakistan was 100% the right one. There is no way our cricketers can particiapte in any tournament that had the blessing of the Pak. govt., a govt. that openly sponsors terrorism on Indian soil, but why would we over-react and act against individual Pakistani players who have commercial interests in India?

Its an all out boycott of anything Pakistani, Sriram! You dont get it. You have to make life difficult for the aam junta there and cricket is a good start. Only when things get difficult for everyone, the public there will wonder where their open support for terrorism has led them. See how Jews value a fellow Jew's life ? The nanny who saved the 2 year old Jewish kid's life has been accorded the highest honor in Israel & has been granted Israeli citizenship. We lack that kinda pride. Its insulting to all our patriotic cops (Karkare, Kamte, Salaskar & the likes) if we continue to employ people from their land in whatever capacity & feed their families. Ultimately all their tax money is channeled towards terrorism of some form that will be directed towards India. Enough of all this nonsense. No more deals with the devils. I am loving every bit of the recent drama that has erupted between Lanka & PCB. That news has livened up what would have been otherwise a dull winter holiday.

[Dhondy]

Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of the situation- after all, who are we to decide?- if India really wants to hurt Pakistan, it should use its economic might ...and cricketing. Pakistan's economy is already in shambles. At some stage they will default their debts. India may decide that they do not want any part of trade with that country, thus closing off a potential billion-customer market to companies across the border, while every other nation scrambles for that market. India may decide to undercut the few things the neighbours export, like Baasmati rice, thus drying up their remaining small streams of foreign exchange. Do you agree these are reasonable moves, Sriram? Then do not underestimate how much cricket diplomacy can hurt Pakistan. Again, making no judgement on right or wrong- I am not qualified to do so- India can hurt Pakistan immensely by putting pressure on nations such as SL and SA to abrogate all ties with that nation and providing financial initiatives to do so, organise lucrative IPL fixtures to coincide with Pakistan's fixtures, and by refusing visas to all Pakistani IPL players. If they wish, India can isolate Pakistan economically and in the one area which is Pakistan's national obsession. Starved of international cricket, a generation of cricketers will whither, and the game itself will fade away in that country- there is no greater punishment. Whether India will do so is another matter. How strongly do Indians feel? Moreover, is this morally defensible? I don't know. I am glad I don't have to make that call.

[Bumper]

It is perfectly defensible. We should do this across the board. You cant grant concession for Pakistani employees regardless of their social status. I want ESPN India to fire Wasim Akram. (Though, Akram is one Pakistani player i respect immensely) I want to see reputed Pakistani players appear on Geo TV and explain it to their public what terrorism is costing their country. The higher the status of the individuals impacted, the stronger will be the message. Ofcourse, all this could cause more bitterness among the Pakistanis. But its not like our diplomatic relations are any better otherwise. I have a feeling that our govt has had enough and BCCI is also on board. We will soon see measures in place to constrict Pakistan in all ways. Hit them where it hurts and hard!

[Dhondy]

Just one other thing. After the devastating Kashmir earthquake, I was one of the many Indians, and I am sure that includes several of you here, who contributed directly to relief efforts in Pakistan. We all know the story of Sonia paying for the medical expenses of a gravely ill Pakistani child. SRK made no distinction between Indian and Pakistani players while recruiting for IPL. It shows that Indians are humane and are capable of great acts of forgiveness, despite what has gone on between the two countries. Pakistani artists such as Ghulam Ali, Adnan Sami and others routinely flourish in India. That bigheartedness reflects well on India as a nation historically- it's something we can put into our CV for posterity. Therefore, as a nation of conscientious people, it need not fear being branded as mean and vindictive if for once, it resorted to punitive measures. Other nations have done as much.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Ram]

Bumps and Doc, I truly understand your point of view when you say ‘This time, we need to make sure they feel the pinch, hit where it hurts the most’ and that’s a perfectly right thing to do. Alas, dangling mere carrots alone NEVER works in international diplomacy. We can give as many press-conferences we want condemning Pakistan or flaunting the evidence we’ve collected about their involvement in the Mumbai attacks, but unless we use the stick and take stern action, no way will Pakistan feel obligated to do anything. This much I understand and acknowledge. My only concern is the nature of the actions we take. We can either take the silent yet effective route by mounting a massive diplomatic offensive and send our High Commissioners to meet their counterparts in their respective countries and present them with the evidence of Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai attacks ( and we’ve already done that) or We can lobby with more powerful nations to exert pressure on Pakistan. Simply put, lets take actions that actually work, rather than indulge in tactics that not only precipitate the situation, but also worsens our reputation in the world. Doc had talked about we can hurt Pakistan economically, but the fact of the matter is, our Trade relations with Pakistan has never been good at all. It isn’t like Indian investment in Pakistan creates jobs for 1000s for Pakistanis, that when we pull the plug on those investments, ordinary Pakistanis will feel the pinch. It simply isn’t the case. Our economic decisions have VERY little impact on the life of the ordinary Pakistani. So, economically, there’s very little we can do and that’s the unfortunate reality. And even assuming it did, does it going to change anything at all? Pakistan decided on the strategy of waging a low-cost, yet effective proxy war, once they decided that they cannot compete conventionally with India. So, whether we hurt them economically or not, Pakistan will continue to fund and support these terror groups coz lets face it, it doesn’t take much to do it. So, the question of ‘Lets hurt them economically’ isn’t totally relevant coz, it has no impact whatsoever on Pakistan’s capability to sponsor terrorism in India. If anything, if we do that, it may further isolate Pakistan, harden fundamentalists and weaken Moderates of the society. Net result; More hatred from more people. Is that what we want? Its our duty to prop-up moderate and democratic forces in Pakistan and by making it harder for the ordinary Pakistani and yet having no impact on Pakistan’s ability to support terrorism in India, we’re not helping our cause. Bumps talked about firing people like Wasim Akram from ESPN. As much it will create lots of publicity, its all negative publicity. Ours is a great nation Bumps, a nation of respectable people, a nation that chose non-violence to gain its freedom, a nation that chose the path of democracy when all our neighbors struggle to grasp that concept. Even Doc alluded to those points in his post about how we’ve always been magnanimous neighbors. This has earned us immense respect in the international community and it is this very same respect that gets us big favors, like the nuclear deal from the U.S. We don’t want to go on an all-out public attack that makes us look like war-mongerers. Then whats the difference between us and Pakistan? After all, the truth is, the whole world’s watching what’s happening and Pakistan’s reputation as a nation is constantly sliding and they will pay a HUGE price for it. Essentially, the whole point of what I am trying to say is; Lets do all that we can to prevent another terror attack happening on Indian soil, but lets do it effectively and discreetly, rather than indulge in shortsighted tactics (like firing Pakistani hosts on Indian T.V), that not only do not work at all, but also sullies our reputation. I say this not a pacifist or a moderate or polictically correct (:D) person, I speak from a purely selfish point of view as an Indian.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Anakin]

How does a small country like Israel survive? Before anyone brings up the US factor, don't forget they have the balls to take the attack to the enemy, and don't take 3 days to kill handful of terrorists.

[Bumper]

My only concern is the nature of the actions we take. We can either take the silent yet effective route by mounting a massive diplomatic offensive and send our High Commissioners to meet their counterparts in their respective countries and present them with the evidence of Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai attacks ( and we’ve already done that) or We can lobby with more powerful nations to exert pressure on Pakistan. Simply put, lets take actions that actually work, rather than indulge in tactics that not only precipitate the situation, but also worsens our reputation in the world.

Ask yourself. Can India-Pakistan relationship be any worse ? What are we afraid of ? If the actions dont have their intended effect and at the least they will serve to express our disapproval of their support for terrorism in the strongest possible manner. Merely doing what we did in the past (that has not worked) or sitting & twiddling our thumbs wont do. We've already tried diplomatic responses in the past. Have you seen any country take attacks on their Parliament lightly ? In 99% of the cases, such an attack would have resulted in a war. Diplomatic means have never worked & prolly never will. Even if it does, it will last only for short period of time. An year later when Mumbai attack is part of our history, LeT will resume operations under a diff name and we'll be revisiting this topic again.

Bumps talked about firing people like Wasim Akram from ESPN. As much it will create lots of publicity, its all negative publicity. Ours is a great nation Bumps, a nation of respectable people, a nation that chose non-violence to gain its freedom, a nation that chose the path of democracy when all our neighbors struggle to grasp that concept. Even Doc alluded to those points in his post about how we’ve always been magnanimous neighbors. This has earned us immense respect in the international community and it is this very same respect that gets us big favors, like the nuclear deal from the U.S. We don’t want to go on an all-out public attack that makes us look like war-mongerers. Then whats the difference between us and Pakistan? After all, the truth is, the whole world’s watching what’s happening and Pakistan’s reputation as a nation is constantly sliding and they will pay a HUGE price for it.

But how safe are our cities today ? Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore are the top cities in every jihadi groups' hit list. If you cannot go to work & return safely, whats the use of all the economic boom & wealth we have generated ? Whats the use of democracy or the respect we have commanded ? LeT is not an organization that operates with conscience. They will attack us whenever they see an opportunity. They dont hold back because we've been nice to them or increase their operations because we've been hostile to them. They'll do what they keep doing, we have to do what we have to. If nothing, at least we will inconvenience their life enough with the hope that some day some one sane (however improbable that may be), will raise his voice against these idiotic policies of the Pak govt.

Essentially, the whole point of what I am trying to say is; Lets do all that we can to prevent another terror attack happening on Indian soil, but lets do it effectively and discreetly, rather than indulge in shortsighted tactics (like firing Pakistani hosts on Indian T.V), that not only do not work at all, but also sullies our reputation. I say this not a pacifist or a moderate or polictically correct (:D) person, I speak from a purely selfish point of view as an Indian.

Its not mutually exclusive, one does not preclude the other. We should everything to secure ourselves as well as to inconvenience them.

[donkey]

Great news...boycott anything that creates more tax money for terrorist state pakistan. I hope PCB doesnt mind this unfair treatment of their "Non state" players. :hysterical: I wonder if Pakistanis have any shame left to not whine about it, IPL is a privilege not right.

[hitman1980]

If cricket can be used as a confidence building measure, then it should be used to show tht we don't have any confidence in pak now ... Whtever steps they take to eradicate terrorism in their country is just an eyewash ... I don't want India to have any economic, cultural etc bilateral ties with these pakis .... As Imran khan once told tht Jehad starts on cricket field.... Tht is the mentality of each and every paki .. Just go and ask them ... They will say we will love to have friendship with India but will support Kashmir and militancy ... They will say we will love to see India as a superpower but on the other hand will be happy when they see India's financial capital attacked ... They start comparing it with Mariot attack and provided every argument tht why eng and any other team shouldn't visit India .. So wht kind of friendship is tht???? Whtever u guys say but there is hatred between India and Pakistan .. either it be between govt or between ppl .... All those who deny it, they r just closing their eyes and don't want to see the harsh reality ... Cricket is just not a game when it comes to India and Pakistan ... It is a medium used to voice the general opinion of the ppl of India ...

[donkey]

If cricket can be used as a confidence building measure, then it should be used to show tht we don't have any confidence in pak now ... Whtever steps they take to eradicate terrorism in their country is just an eyewash ...

Your first paragraph sums it very nicely buddy, plus we all know they are desperate for our riches...cricket for confidence building is nothing but cheap sympathy tactic.

[Rajiv]

Just one other thing. After the devastating Kashmir earthquake, I was one of the many Indians, and I am sure that includes several of you here, who contributed directly to relief efforts in Pakistan. We all know the story of Sonia paying for the medical expenses of a gravely ill Pakistani child. SRK made no distinction between Indian and Pakistani players while recruiting for IPL. .

Bet you, some from the other side would say it was your duty - considering the atrocoties the Indian Army has done to the "ghost" town of Kashmir ------ Sriram, I mentioned the same - kick pak players out to display the effect ( wonder where the thread disaapeared ) but I concur 100% with bumps

[Kartikey]

IPL will lose fans if Pakistan players stay away Though some franchises are anxious over the availability of Pakistan players for the next IPL season following the deterioration in relations between India and Pakistan Younis Khan said it was too early to think about Pakistan participation. But Younis, who played for the champions Rajasthan Royals, was certain that their absence will lead to a loss of popularity for the Twenty20 competition. "The franchises running teams in the IPL know that Indian and Pakistani players are the biggest attractions in the league," Younis said. He cited the example of Shoaib Akhtar’s dramatic IPL debut, when Shoaib took four wickets in a hostile spell to consign the Delhi Daredevils to defeat. “The league touched new heights in popularity when Shoaib Akhtar played his first match for the Kolkata Knight Riders as the Eden Gardens was jam-packed,†he said. “Indian people like to watch Pakistani players in action and they are popular there as well.†Other Pakistan players who shone during the inaugural IPL included fast bowlers Sohail Tanvir, who finished as the highest wicket-taker, and Umar Gul. http://blogs.cricinfo.com/thebuzz/ :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: