Caught in a diplomatic row that is threatening to explode, Indian Premier League teams are set to make amends by picking four to five Pakistani cricketers for Season 3 scheduled to begin on March 12. Among the cricketers expected to be made an offer are Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq, the last two being on the radar of the Kolkata Knight Riders. The turnaround follows home minister P. Chidambaram’s assertion that the government never “nudged” the IPL to ban Pakistani players. “In the next three to four days, you will see at least four to five Pakistani players picked up. Apart from the Rajasthan Royals, nobody else has the funds to recruit more foreign players, but a way will be found,” said a source in the Knight Riders, owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan and friends. As of now, the only way to accommodate the Pakistanis will be by dropping “unavailable” or “injury-ridden” foreign players. The Knight Riders are keen to offload knee injury-hit Bangladeshi Mashrafe Mortaza and South African Ch arl Langeveldt in favour of Razzaq and Gul. “They have been on our wish list for a long time and we are in touch with them. But we will finalise everything only after due approvals come from the IPL organisers,” said a KKR source. Razzaq has been at the centre of a controversy following Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ijaz Butt’s announcement that he may play with the Deccan Chargers. The Chargers have officially denied any such move after IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said they did not have enough funds to buy the all-rounder. But sources said interest had been shown and contact established with Razzaq over the phone last weekend after it became clear that the Chargers’ top bowler Fidel Edwards would be unavailable for Season 3.For Further: www.telegraphindia.com/1100129/jsp/frontpage/story_12041776.jsp
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