“I truly believe that they should have been chosen."
An old video of Shah Rukh Khan saying Pakistani cricketers are the “best T20 players” has resurfaced.
As the Indian Premier League (IPL) got underway, there have been calls for Pakistani cricket players to be included in the yearly T20 tournament.
While tensions between the neighbouring countries remain high, the video has attracted attention once more.
SRK, a co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, discusses the difficulties that IPL clubs experience in team selection in an old video.
The actor referred to an auction when no Pakistani player received offers and said he wanted Abdul Razzaq in his team since the exclusion was “humiliating”.
Shah Rukh said: “I think it’s humiliating to me as a KKR owner that this has happened.
“We are known to be good, we are known to invite everyone, and we should have.
“I truly believe that they should have been chosen. As a matter of fact, I’m not going to be the one who is opposite from what everyone else is saying but I wanted Abdul Razzaq.
“I think it was in the newspapers much earlier than even the auction started. Dada (Sourav Ganguly) was very keen.”
The Pathaan actor pointed out that 11 Pakistani players were considered for the IPL auction, but none were chosen.
This highlighted the possibility that IPL franchises chose their teams cautiously due to uncertainties surrounding the two countries’ tense relationship.
Shah Rukh continued: “I am not giving an excuse and I truly believe Pakistani players are the best T20 players in the world. They are the champions. They are wonderful.
“But somewhere down the line, there is an issue and we cannot deny it.”
SRK also stressed the challenges that club owners confront in these circumstances, saying:
“There is an issue, we cannot keep saying ‘Oh this was wrong’.
“Yes, maybe the way it was done was wrong, the way it is being carried out may be wrong, but you can’t keep on saying there isn’t any issue, they could have come.
“There is an issue and let’s not deny it. Every day we blame Pakistan, they blame us, it is an issue.”
Given that India has declined to visit Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup, Shah Rukh Khan’s remarks are very relevant right now.
Despite initiatives to advance cricket diplomacy, including the restart of bilateral cricket relations in 2012 and the establishment of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) cricket council, the two nations’ relationship remains tense.
Pakistani players’ exclusion from the IPL has previously drawn controversy.
Yet, according to the league’s executive committee, players are chosen solely on the basis of their talent and performance, without regard to any political factors.
On the other hand, fans of the Indian cricket team condemned SRK for continuing to back Pakistani athletes.
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