Want Pakistan players to be included in IPL, says ICC president Zaheer Abbas

Zaheer Abbas, the president of the International Cricket Council has said that he would speak to the Board of Control for Cricket in India and ask them to include Pakistan players in the Indian Premier League.

Abbas, who is regarded as one of the finest batsmen to emerge from Pakistan took over as the president of the ICC last June. He will be in Bengaluru to watch the final of the ongoing IPL on May 29. He was invited to the occasion by Anurag Thakur, the newly appointed BCCI president.

According to Abbas, the inclusion of Pakistani players in the league will "raise the importance and status of the league".

He also advocated for the resumption of stalled cricketing ties between the neighbours.

"I have accepted the invitation to watch the IPL final and it is a good opportunity for me to again highlight the importance of resuming bilateral cricket ties although they are obviously subject to government clearances," he said.

It should be noted that several Pakistan players took part in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008. But their participation hit a road block after the terror attacks that hit Mumbai in 2008. None of the Pakistan players have since featured in the league.

Zaheer Abbas will step down as the ICC president in July. There have been rumours that he might be roped in by the Pakistan Cricket Board as its president.

Abbas has already made it clear that he was open to such a development if the PCB thinks him worth enough. Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan has been asked to change the PCB chairman in his capacity as the patron-in-chief of the body.

India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 2007, except for short series of three ODIs and two T20 Internationals in the winter of 2012/13 when Pakistan undertook a tour of India.