Indian official says he'd love to see Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi play IPL

Indian Premier League's (IPL) governing council's member, Surinder Khanna, has admitted that he would love to have Pakistani players participate in IPL 2020 but said that the task was next to impossible given the political tensions between the two neighbours. 

"As far as Pakistan cricketers’ participation in IPL is concerned, I can assure you that the players from both sides always want to compete with each other. But we need to follow the advisory from the government, whether you like it or not. This is something which is out of our control," Khanna said in an interview with Cricket Pakistan.

Khanna, who is also a member of the IPL governing council, said that the Indian crowd would openly welcome Pakistan's star cricketers such as limited overs skipper Babar Azam and bowling stud Shaheen Afridi. 

"Who would not want to see the terrific Babar Azam bat or the young pacer [Shaheen] Afridi bowl in the IPL?"

He further lauded Azam for his technique and said that he was just as technically sound as India captain Virat Kohli. 

READ: Babar Azam, Virat Kohli comparison reappears on slow news day

"Babar has fans in India as well and, bearing in mind his technique, he is at par with Kohli. It is now a matter of consistency, as Kohli has been doing it for past 10-12 years, and if Babar can continue to play like this he will become more mature," he said.

Meanwhile, Khanna, a former cricketer himself, also took note of the young Haider Ali's performance on debut and his potential. 

"He played so impressively - clean and technically well," he said. 

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