Shahid Afridi Blames IPL Franchises For Pressurising Sri Lanka Players To Cancel Pakistan Tour

As stated by Afridi, Lankan players neither want to tour Pakistan nor participate in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as the IPL franchise are putting pressure on them

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has once again sparked controversy by blaming Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises for pressurising Sri Lanka cricketers to cancel Pakistan tour. He claimed to have a chat with a few Lankan cricketers who briefed him about the issue. As stated by Afridi, the Sri Lankan players neither want to tour Pakistan nor participate in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as the IPL franchise are putting pressure on them. The former all-rounder revealed it all in an interview with senior Pakistani journalist Saj Sadiq. “Sri Lankan players are under pressure from IPL franchises. I spoke to SL players last time when there was talk of them coming to Pakistan & playing in PSL. They said they wanted to come, but IPL guys say if you go to Pakistan we won’t give you a contract,” Afridi was quoted as saying by a senior Pakistani journalist.

Shahid Afridi "Sri Lankan players are under pressure from IPL franchises. I spoke to SL players last time when there was talk of them coming to Pakistan & playing in PSL. They said they wanted to come, but IPL guys say if you go to Pakistan we won't give you a contract" #PAKvSL

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) September 19, 2019

“Pakistan’s always supported SL, it never happened that we had a tour of SL & our players rested. SL’s board should put pressure on their contracted players to go to Pakistan. SL players who’ll come will always be remembered in Pakistan’s history,” Afridi added.

Shahid Afridi "Pakistan's always supported SL, it never happened that we had a tour of SL & our players rested. SL's board should put pressure on their contracted players to go to Pakistan. SL players who'll come will always be remembered in Pakistan's history" #PAKvSL #Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) September 19, 2019

Following Afridi’s statement, the Sri Lanka Cricket gave confirmed the tour as planned. The Pakistan Pakistan government pledged the same level of security to their players as is provided to visiting heads of state. Afridi’s comments also come as surprise as only Lasith Malinga, among the players opted-out, holds an IPL contract. Players who opted out of the tour of Pakistan are: Lasith Malinga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Thisara Perera, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Akila Dananjaya, Suranga Lakmal and Dinesh Chandimal.