Kamran wants Pakistani players to be part of IPL

Islamabad, Jan 23 (ANI): Cricketer Kamran Akmal has said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) must sort out its differences with India so that the country's players can take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Akmal, who was a member of the Rajasthan Royals squad that won the inaugural IPL in 2007, has not featured in the event since 2008.

Akmal expressed the hope that cricket between India and Pakistanm would begin soon and that Pakistan cricketers would soon be able to take part in the IPL.

"Playing for Rajasthan was a wonderful experience. Having the opportunity to play under the leadership of Shane Warne was fantastic and it was a real eye opener. After that first tournament, we Pakistani players have not been invited back to play in the IPL and I don't really want to go into the whys and wherefores of that, but I do feel that sportsmen shouldn't suffer due to 'outside' matters and Pakistani cricketers should be included in the IPL," Pak Passion quoted him, as Akmal, as saying.

"India and Pakistan should regularly play against each other in cricket and that is something that the fans of both nations want to see. Indian fans want to see the Pakistani cricket team tour India and likewise Pakistani cricket fans want to see the Indian team tour Pakistan."

"We went to India for the World Cup semi final in Mohali and received a great welcome. The response was overwhelming as it has been every time I have been to India with the Pakistan team. The public want to see India versus Pakistan matches and I think they should be a regular occurrence on the International cricketing calendar. Both sets of fans should not be deprived of seeing the opposition touring their country," he added.

Akmal, who has not featured for Pakistan since the World Cup semi final last year in Mohali against India, said taht he was enjoying his time currently playing in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL), and also spoke of how impressed he was with some of the Bangladeshi cricketers he had played with and against during this tournament. (ANI)