Ex-Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has indicated that he is on the verge of being selected to play for the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the coming year.
Amir, who last year declared his international retirement from international cricket, featured in his final international game for Pakistan against Ireland in the same year's T20 World Cup.
No Pakistani player has featured in the tournament since the first season of IPL due to the political enmity between India and Pakistan. There was a single exception in 2011 as Azhar Mahmood, who obtained British citizenship, played for three seasons in the IPL.
Amir has now stated that he wishes to play in the IPL, if the opportunity arises.
"Honestly, if I do get an opportunity, I'll surely play in the IPL. I'm stating this clearly. But if I don't have an opportunity, then I will play in the PSL. Next year, I will have the choice of playing in the IPL, and if we are provided with the opportunity, then why not? I will play in the IPL," Amir told Samaa TV.
When questioned which of the two he would rather play if their schedules conflict, Amir replied straight away.
"I do not believe IPL and PSL will clash next year. Because this year, the ICC Champions Trophy was everything. If I am picked in PSL first, then I will not be able to withdraw, because I will be suspended from the tournament. If I am picked in IPL first, then I will not be able to withdraw from that tournament either. Now, it will depend on which league I am picked in first. If IPL auction is held first and I am picked, then I will not be able to pull off and will not play for PSL. And if the PSL draft is held first, and I am picked, then I will not be able to withdraw from the tournament," he clarified.
Amir's situation is more complicated than Mahmood's. Even if he registers for the IPL, his selection is by no means a certainty, especially following the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack in Kashmir.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla reiterated that India will not have any bilateral cricket with Pakistan in the aftermath of the attack.
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