Pakistan cricket team is one of the top T20I teams in the world, but the players of the team are not allowed to participate in the Indian Premier League because of political tensions between India and Pakistan on the borders. The BCCI had allowed Pakistani players in the first edition of the IPL, but that proved to be the only season with Pakistani players.
Still, a few players from the country have managed to play in the IPL after the ban on Pakistani players. Some of them were born in Pakistan and migrated to foreign nations, while one of the players participated in the IPL under a British passport. Here’s a look at the five Pakistan-based players who have earned IPL deals after 2008.
Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja plays international cricket for the Australian team, but he was born in Pakistan. The 33-year-old is known for his exploits at the top of the order.
However, he has played only one season in the IPL. Khawaja turned up for Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2017, scoring 127 runs in six games. His highest score was only 30.
Azhar Mahmood
Azhar Mahmood represented Pakistan in 21 Test matches and 143 ODIs. After retirement, he attained a British passport and registered for the IPL Auction.
In 2012, Kings XI Punjab signed him and Azhar played two seasons for the team. Mahmood later played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. The all-rounder featured in 23 IPL games, where he aggregated 388 runs and scalped 29 wickets.
Owais Shah
Owais Shah was born in Pakistan, but he donned the English jersey in international cricket. The right-handed batsman played for three franchises in his IPL career.
He made his IPL debut as a part of Kolkata Knight Riders in 2010. Shah switched to Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011, while he played his last season for Rajasthan Royals. Owais scored 506 runs in 22 innings of IPL. He played a splendid knock of 60 runs for RR in the game against RCB in 2012.
Imran Tahir
Sohail Tanvir had made history by becoming the first player to win Purple Cap in IPL. 11 years later, another Pakistan-born player won the Purple Cap and it was Chennai Super Kings’ Imran Tahir.
The right-arm leg-spinner plays for South Africa in international cricket. Tahir has played for Delhi, Rising Pune Supergiant, and CSK in his career. He is famous for his unique way of celebrating wickets in the league. Although the pitches in the UAE are on the slower side, CSK did not include him in their playing XI for the match against Mumbai Indians.
Ali Khan
The latest Pakistan-born player to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) is American fast bowler Ali Khan. The fast bowler starred for Trinbago Knight Riders in Caribbean Premier League 2020.
Since the team owners of KKR and TKR are the same, Kolkata roped in the talented quick bowler as a replacement for Harry Gurney in the IPL 2020. The two-time IPL winners have a plethora of fast bowling options in their squad. Thus, it will be interesting to see if Ali Khan gets to make his debut in this season.
