Lalit Modi, a former commissioner of the Indian Premier League has revealed that the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI), had a role to play in the exclusion of Pakistani cricketers from the private short format cricketing league, Cricinfo.com reported on Tuesday.

The league saw the successful inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in its debut year in 2008. However, following the November 26, 2008 attacks, Pakistani players were almost exclusively shunned from subsequent edition. None of the teams bid for the Pakistani players up for auction in the 2009 tournament held in South Africa.

The BCCI had denied any wrong doing on its part, insisting that teams took individual decisions to not sign Pakistani players. No Pakistani player has featured in the tournament since then.

Modi, in an inteverview to CNN-IBN said that “armtwisting” by the BCCI had led to the shut out of the Pakistani cricketers.

“Arm-twisting happened by senior BCCI officials that nobody should pick them.”

The BCCI has come under scrutiny after one of the biggest sponsors of cricket in India, Sahara, decided to pull its support to Indian cricket this week.

Modi also revealed that the auction of Andrew Flintoff in the 2009 edition too was rigged.

“Yes that is a fact. I made it clear that time. That onus was on me and as chairman I should have not allowed that to happen then,” Modi told CNN-IBN.

Source:
IPL shut out of Pakistan cricketers due to BCCI: Lalit Modi – The Express Tribune