Pakistan Senator Faisal Javed Khan terms T10 League as 'India owned'; says Pakistan players shouldn't play in the tournament

Pakistan Senator Faisal Javed Khan on Sunday lashed out at the ongoing T10 League in Abu Dhabi calling it a private league with a major share of Indian businessmen and discouraged players from Pakistan to take part in the event. A number of Pakistani players play in that event which is being held for the third time this year.

Raking up a nationalistic tone, the member of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said in a tweet on Sunday that T10 is a private league where teams are owned and chaired by the Indian businessmen. Faisal’s tweet was the first public statement from any government official from Pakistan since the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) abruptly cancelled no-objection certificates granted to the players from Pakistan for the league.

“All Pakistani stars and individuals have been removed from Indian projects. Our local players should not take part in this league. We should respect sentiments of people of our country as together we stand with Kashmir,” Faisal wrote in his tweet.

T10 is a private league – teams owned & chaired by Indian business men. All Pakistani stars & individuals ve bn removed from Indian projects. Our local players shld not take part in this league! We shld respect sentiments of people of our country as together we stand with Kashmir

— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) November 17, 2019

As many as 14 players from Pakistan have been drafted by various franchises of the tournament. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was set to captain the Qalandars side in the tournament and it is also coached by another former Pakistan international — Aaqib Javed.

The PCB, on its part, said the NOC was revoked keeping in mind the players’ workload as well as attending a fitness camp. Even non-contracted players like Afridi and Imran Nazir were not granted the NoC. Some players, on the other hand, were allowed to take part in the Mzansi Super League in South Africa that kicked off on November 8.

PCB and T10 League never had a smooth going

The PCB and the T10 League haven’t had the best of relationship since the latter started in 2017. Last year too, the Pakistan board had held back the players’ NoC till the last minute after its chief Ehsan Mani raised concerns over the tournament’s ownership and sponsorship.

The trouble began after the T10 League’s president, Salman Iqbal, also a major investor in the tournament, stepped down citing lack of “transparency”. He had also warned Pakistani players from participating in the league.

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