IPL: 3 Pakistan-born players who played the tournament since 2009

11 years on since its inaugural edition, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has become a cricketing event that the whole world looks down as no less than a festival. The players from all the top cricket playing nations, barring Pakistan, participate in the event which lasts for over 8 weeks every year. However, in the maiden season, even players from the other side of the border featured in the league.

Though owing to the constant problems among the two neighbouring nations, the Pakistani players haven’t been a part of IPL since 2008. The two countries haven’t played much cricket against each other at the international level either. The conditions now have made the case even weaker as there are even questions on the 2019 World Cup encounter between India and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Pakistan players’ participation looks unlikely in the IPL without any doubt, however, there are a few Pakistan-born players who have been a part of this T20 event even after the 2008 edition. In this piece, we look at three of those players.

Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir is a Lahore, Pakistan-born cricketer who plays international cricket for South Africa. The leg-spinner after trying his luck for Pakistan U19’s in his early days moved to South Africa, hunting for a place in Proteas national cricket team. After a struggle-full initial phase, Tahir finally managed to fetch a place in the African side in 2011 in both One-Day Internationals and longer-version of the game. The 39-year-old cemented his place in the side as he produced some fine performances despite being new to the international set-up.

In 2014, he made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Delhi Daredevils though couldn’t impress in his debut outing. However, in the following season, he made his presence felt, picking 15 wickets in 10 matches. In 2017, the tall spinner while playing for now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants had an unforgettable tournament, playing a major part in the franchise’s journey to the finals. He finished with 18 wickets in 12 matches at an excellent average of 7.8. Last season, he was bought by Chennai Super Kings and has been retained for the upcoming season as well.

Usman Khawaja

The Australian opener, Usman Khawaja who recently fetched the Man of the Series award in the five-match series against India has also been a part of Indian Premier League, however, just for a one season. Khawaja was born in Islamabad, Pakistan though he was just five years of age when his family immigrated to Australia. The left-handed batsman started his career by playing for Australia U-19 side and made his international debut in 2010-11 Ashes.

Lately, he made his way into the Aussie limited-overs team as well, however, owing to his inconsistent run, he was kept in and out of the team. Meanwhile, the southpaw featured in a solitary IPL season during 2016 for Rising Pune Supergiants. He featured in six matches, however, failing to make them count as he scored meagre 127 runs at an average of 21. Thereafter he went unsold in the following IPL auctions.

Owais Shah

Owais Shah is the another Pakistan-born cricketer who has featured in IPL 2009. Shah, alike Tahir, moved outside Pakistan to pursue his cricketing career. The right-handed batsman also began his journey while playing at the U-19 level for England. He, of course, captained the English U-19 side for some time. Gifted with fluency in his batting, the 40-year-old made his ODI debut in 2001, however, due to his inconsistency, he was immediately dropped from the side. Later, he made a comeback in 2005 and produced much better figures this time around.

Pertinently, he made his debut for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2010 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) though he wasn’t able to make a mark in his first two seasons of the league. Later, in 2012, Shah had a rememberable season for Rajasthan Royals, scoring 340 runs in 13 matches. Lastly, he played for now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in IPL 2013, marking his end in the tournament.

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