Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood is among the 144 cricketers whose names have been listed for the IPL Players` auction to be held in Bangalore on February 4. However, the 36-year-old Rawalpindi-born right hand batsman and right arm pacer has been shown to be a player from England in the list released to the media by IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla. Mahmood has played in 21 Tests and 143 ODIs for Pakistan, but his last appearance for his country of birth was during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies when he turned up in the match against Ireland, which his team lost shockingly at Kingston, Jamaica.
The cricketer said in July last year that he had qualified to play for England. “On March 17 (2011) I qualified for England as well. But there’s nothing like playing for your home country. A lot of people have been asking me if I want to play for England. It’s like a bubble in the air, if the opportunity comes up, I will take it,” he was quoted as saying by the website. Incidentally, no player from Pakistan has figured in the cash-rich T20 League after the first edition in 2008. Post the Mumbai terror attacks the same year, no franchise had shown interest in picking a Pakistani player, though, they had figured in the auction once. It remains to be seen whether Mahmood gets the nod from any of the franchisees at this year`s auction.
