Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq suggested that all cricket boards should prohibit their players from participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He argued that since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not allow Indian cricketers to compete in foreign leagues, other boards should adopt a similar stance.
Currently, Indian men’s cricketers can only play in overseas T20 leagues if they have retired from all forms of cricket in India. Inzamam urged other boards to implement the same policy for the IPL while speaking on a Pakistani television channel.
“Forget the Champions Trophy for a moment. Look at the IPL as top players from around the world participate in the tournament, but Indian cricketers don’t feature in any other leagues. Every cricket board should reconsider sending their players to the IPL. If the BCCI isn’t allowing its players to play elsewhere, then other boards should also take a firm stand.”
Pakistan crashed out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 after losing to India and New Zealand. Inzamam-ul-Haq criticised the team for failing under pressure
Every board should stop sending their players to the IPL.
~ Inzamam
pic.twitter.com/MjCbuvXuzl— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) March 1, 2025
Pakistani cricketers have been barred from the IPL since 2009 due to political reasons, despite 12 players featuring in the 2008 edition. Meanwhile, the PCB has announced the PSL 2025 schedule, running from April 11 to May 18, overlapping with the IPL, which will take place from March 22 to May 25.
The former national selector criticised the selection committee for including only one specialist spinner in the ICC event.The 54-year-old was quoted as saying by propakistani.pk:
“We don’t even put up a fight. We’re eliminated right at the start. The moment pressure builds, we completely fall apart. Seven out of eight teams in the tournament have at least one specialist spinner, yet we went in with just one. This isn’t just an error—it’s a massive miscalculation.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan ended their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign without a single victory. Their final group-stage match against Bangladesh on February 27 was abandoned due to rain.