IPL is top T20 league in the world, regret not to have played after 1st edition: Sohail Tanvir

The 35-year old was the best bowler of the inaugural IPL, leading Rajasthan Royals to a title triumph but since then no Pakistani player has featured in the IPL due to strained political and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Tanvir said he had learnt a lot as a youngster playing in the first IPL with Shane Warne as his captain.

“I learnt a lot not only on the field but after sharing the dressing room with some very senior players. Warne was a great motivator and shrewd captain and used me beautifully in that IPL,” Tanvir told Gports on the GTV News channel.

Tanvir, who last played for Pakistan in April, 2017 in the West Indies in a T20 International, has been a regular in T20 leagues around the world and is considered as a specialist bowler.

“In the last one year I have intentionally cut down on my T20 league appearances because I now want to play more for Pakistan and that is why I have concentrated on playing in domestic cricket in all formats,” he said.

“I have not given up hope of getting a recall to the Pakistan squad for the Asia Cup and World T20 this year. Then we also have another World T20 next year in India. “The fact that the selectors have recalled Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik for the series against Bangladesh has given me lot of hope. It means seniors are still in contention.”

Tanvir said he was a bit disappointed at being ignored by the selectors after topping the national T20 championship bowling chart few months back.

“But it is part and parcel of any professional cricketer’s life. I will now give my best in the coming Pakistan Super League. It is good that the chief selector has said that performances in the PSL will be taken into consideration for the coming series,” he said.

Islamabad United owner calls for matches between IPL and PSL teams

Ali Naqvi, the owner of the Islamabad United franchise, who are the defending champions in the Pakistan Super League, has called for matches to be played between the Indian Premier League (IPL) and PSL teams.

“I think we should consider having regular matches between teams from the IPL and PSL which are the best leagues in the world,” Naqvi told reporter here.

Naqvi said he had also suggested to the owners of the Mumbai Indians to play a friendly with Islamabad United but that didn’t happen.

Naqvi, however, conceded that conditions at present were not conducive for this to happen but said cricket always has played a big role in reducing tensions between Pakistan and India.

“Some thought should be given to this suggestion. It can happen sometime in the future,” he said.

Incidentally, former Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq had made a similar suggestion a few days back, calling for a match between the champion teams of both leagues.

But he copped lot of flak when he said that PSL was a more quality league and that PSL team would beat the IPL side.

Naqvi announced that New Zealand’s Luke Ronchi would be the coach-cum-player in the upcoming PSL 5 and he will work with head coach, Misbah-ul-Haq.

The PSL 5 is being held for the first time in Pakistan from February 20 with matches in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has achieved notable success by getting some top foreign players to agree to play the league in Pakistan.