Shah Rukh, Gill for Nice Handling of Pak Cricketers

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who co-owns the Kolkata Knight Riders team, has said that the IPL could have handled the controversy over snubbing Pakistan cricketers in a ‘nice manner’, with Union Sports Minister MS Gill too voicing a similar view, reported CNN-IBN.

“If there is an issue with any other country I think it can be resolved in a friendly and nicer manner,” Khan was quoted as saying.

“I believe my country stands for democracy, goodness and welcome-ness. We should open our arms to everyone and I think we should have a little more leeway in involving people from all over the world to come and showcase their talent,” he was quoted as saying.

Of the 11 Pakistani players in the fray, franchises picked up none of them during the auction held on January 19 in Mumbai and subsequently, entire Pakistan cried foul after the snub.

Explaining the reason behind his team not picking up any Pakistani cricketer, Khan said that they did have any slot left after after picking up New Zealand’s Shande Bond, report said.

In the meantime, Union Sports Minister M S Gill too voiced an identical opinion, saying that IPL would learn a lesson from the auction controversy, said report.

“I have seen the graceful response of some Pakistani cricketers to the IPL auction fiasco. I welcome the remarks and hope there will soon be an opportunity for these boys to play exciting cricket in India,” Gill was quoted as saying by PTI.

Asking the franchisee owners to learn a lesson from the episode, the minister said: “I trust that the IPL corporate owners of cricket have also taken a small lesson from it. Everyone must realise that sports are the bedrock of people-to-people contact, which we need to promote with our neighbours.”