Wasim Akram
DH file photo
Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram, recently urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take matters into its own hands and ensure that politics is kept away from the sport.
The 'Sultan of Swing' made the remarks during an interview with Wisden Cricket, where he spoke about wanting to see Pakistani cricketers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and vice versa.
"I’m sorry. But what I don’t like in cricket is politics. Straightforward. Sports should be kept away from politics. In league cricket, pick every player from every nation. Be brave. Be bigger. But that's not happening, unfortunately. And I think that's where the ICC comes in. That's where cricket boards come in. It doesn’t matter who owns the league. It doesn’t matter who owns the teams. Every player from every nation should be picked," the 1992 World Cup-winner said.
To say that India and Pakistan have always had a rocky relationship, as far as diplomatic relations is concerned, would be an understatement. Today, this relationship has hit rock bottom even on the cricket pitch, especially after the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April this year. While the two countries did face-off against each other thrice this year following the Pahalgam attacks and Operation Sindoor, the hostilities between the cricketers were there for all to see.
With the Indian players refusing to shake-hands with their Pakistan counterparts and later not accepting the Asia Cup winner's trophy from Asian Cricket Council chief Mohsin Naqvi, the cricketing ties between both the nations have been anything but gentlemanly.
It is also to be noted that Pakistani players did feature in the inaugural edition of the IPL however, following the Pakistan backed 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, Board of Control for Cricket in India banned the neighbours from taking part in the premiere T20 league.