Dubai Azhar Mahmoud, the first Pakistan cricketer to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) again since 2008, says he loves playing cricket in India because of the crowds.
"I played in Mumbai for the first time the other day and the crowd was amazing. I have always loved playing cricket here," said the former international.
The 37-year-old Mahmoud, who is turning out for Kings XI Punjab, has been a full time Twenty20 specialist for quite some time now and his previous assignment was with the Dhaka outfit in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
A handy medium pacer who is also a belligerent lower order batsman, Mahmoud has proved to be a moderate success in the two matches he has played for his new team so far — while the team pulled off an upset win against Mumbai Indians in the last game.
Speaking to Gulf News in a telephone interview, Mahmoud said his appearance in the IPL need not be construed as opening doors for Pakistan professionals in the IPL again.
"I don't think the doors were ever closed for professionals from Pakistan to be part of the IPL.
"In this edition alone, there are two Pakistan umpires [Aleem Dar and Rameez Raja], Wasim Bhai [Akram] is the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders while Rameez Raja is doing commentary work. Regarding the players, I think it's between the respective boards of India and Pakistan to sort things out," he said.
Snubbed
Pakistan players had been an integral part of the first edition of IPL, while the auction for the second edition saw them being snubbed despite the excellent credentials of the likes of Shahid Afridi or Abdur Razzaq in this form of the game.
Mahmoud, a British citizen and not a contracted player of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), went on: "I cannot really answer as to why the Pakistan players are still not a part of IPL but I think the PCB needs to look into this."
Praising IPL for providing an opportunity to players for prolonging their careers, Mahmoud said: "It's a great opportunity.
"There are a lot of under-35 players like Adam Gilchrist [his skipper in IPL] or Sourav Ganguly but it's some really quality cricket being played out there. Some may think it's a matter of 20 overs only but it takes a lot of our body... you have to be on your toes for all those 240 deliveries."
It was in 2007 that Mahmoud played his last one-dayer for Pakistan following which he had a stint with the Lahore Badshahs team in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), ruling him out of contention from international cricket.
"I have never really retired from international cricket though," said the former Sussex player, before adding tongue in cheek: "I am not the type to announce my retirement thrice and come back every time."
A player's life
When told that a lot of the upcoming cricketing talent in India aspire to play in the IPL now rather than in national colours, Mahmoud was genuinely stumped.
"I am not too sure if any kid can actually choose to prefer it over country, as that's the ultimate honour. There could be some issues with the first class cricket which offers very little for cricketers.
"Ultimately, a player's life is very short and one cannot ignore the financial aspects," he added.
Factfile
Born: February 28, 1975, Rawalpindi, Punjab
Current age: 37
Major teams: Pakistan, Auckland, Dhaka Gladiators, Islamabad Cricket Association, Kent, Kings XI Punjab, Lahore Badshahs, Marylebone Cricket Club, Pakistan International Airlines, Rawalpindi, Surrey, United Bank Limited
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast-medium
Tests: 21 matches, 900 runs, 39 wickets
ODIs: 143 matches, 1521 runs, 123 wickets.
