3 Pakistan-born cricketers who might get bids in IPL 2020 Auction

Players from Pakistan have played just one season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The likes of Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi and a few others were a part of different teams in the inaugural season of the IPL. But we haven’t seen them since.

Ever since the blasts in Mumbai in November 2008, the ties between India and Pakistan have been seriously affected. The two nations play each other only in ACC and ICC events. Moreover, the Pakistan cricketers are banned from the IPL as well.

However, cricketers born in Pakistan who are playing for other countries have participated in the IPL before. Imran Tahir is a Pakistan-born cricketer but plays for South Africa and is a part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) side. Azhar Mahmood may have played international cricket for Pakistan but became a British citizen and hence, played the IPL between 2012 and 2015.

Thus, similarly, we look at five players who are born in Pakistan but play for other nations that could attract bids in the upcoming IPL auctions.

1. Usman Khawaja

One of the first names that come to mind when we talk of Pakistan-born cricketers is Usman Khawaja. The Australian left-hander has been around for almost a decade now. Having made his international debut back in January 2011, Khawaja has played more than 90 international games for Australia.

However, only nine of those have come in international T20 cricket. Khawaja has a decent record in T20 cricket. He averages 31.76 and has a strike-rate of nearly 130. Despite that, he has been overlooked by the selectors.

The Islamabad-born cricketer has played in the IPL in the past. In 2016, he came in as an injury replacement in the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) team. Khawaja came in for Kevin Pietersen mid-way through the ninth edition of the IPL. He played six games where he scored 127 runs at an average of 21.17. Hence, he could be one of the Pakistan-born cricketers to be picked in the upcoming auctions.