Mickey Arthur reckons five Pakistan cricketers would've spiced up the IPL

The Pakistan cricketers took part in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) back in 2008. The likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Tanvir, Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi and many others featured in the T20 extravaganza. Left-arm fast bowler Tanvir also went on to become the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 22 wickets from 11 encounters.

However, political tensions between the two nations meant that the Pakistani players were barred from playing the next season. The IPL has been a witness to eleven seasons and the players from the war-stricken nation haven’t played in the next ten seasons thereafter.

Meanwhile, head coach Mickey Arthur named five Pakistan cricketers, who would’ve added a different dimension to the IPL. “I’ll only say that the likes of Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Aamir, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and Shadab Khan would bring good value to the IPL,” Arthur was quoted as saying in The Telegraph.

Pakistan’s topsy-turvy run of late

Arthur also mentioned that Virat Kohli is currently the best player in the world. Moreover, he went on to say that apart from the Indian captain, he would pay a hefty amount to watch the likes of Australian batsman David Warner and retired South African cricketer AB de Villiers bat.

Pakistan haven’t had at the best of times in international cricket of late by any means. After winning the T20I triangular and ODI series in Zimbabwe, the Men in Green were unable to progress beyond the Super 4 phase in the 2018 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

They lost to arch-rivals India as many as twice and slumped against Bangladesh is the last match of the second round to bow out of the event before the final on September 28. Sarfraz Ahmed’s men are currently playing the first Test of the two-match series against Australia in Dubai.

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