'No one got in touch with me from the BCCI' - Monty Panesar after opting out of Kashmir Premier League

The Kashmir Premier League (KPL) is getting into the news for all the wrong reasons. As soon as the inaugural edition of KPL was announced, there was a constant tussle going on between the Indian and Pakistan Boards on the participation of foreign players.

After a lot of deliberation, the KPL is set to start from August 6, with six teams participating in it. The foreign players too had shown interest initially in the league with players such as Monty Panesar, Owais Shah, Herschelle Gibbs, and Tillakaratne Dilshan being a few prominent names being signed by the respective six teams. But, it seems few players might not take part in the league due to political tension between India and Pakistan.

Apparently, the BCCI is not happy with foreign players taking part in the KPL and has given a warning to the them to not play the league. Gibbs was the one, who was unhappy with the BCCI preventing him from participating in the league. Now, Monty Panesar has spoken about the same and gave his reason to opt out of the KPL.

Monty Panesar opens up about not playing in the KPL

The former England off-spinner wrote on his official Twitter account and mentioned that it was not BCCI’s but ECB and Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) advice for him to not take part in KPL. Panesar also mentioned how his grandfather, who is over 90 years old is staying in India, and how he wishes to see him soon. Speculations were rife that the BCCI might have played a hand in him opting out of KPL.

Earlier, it was reported the franchise has got a confirmation from Dilshan that he will play all the matches of KPL. The former Sri Lankan opener was roped in by Muzaffarabad Tigers and its owner is optimistic of Dilshan playing the inaugural edition of KPL.

Apart from that, former wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif spoke about how the BCCI is threatening players to not participate in the KPL. The BCCI have made a clear stance regarding the foreign players participating in KPL by stating that it has control only on Indian cricketers and league’s inside their nation.