11th February 2010

 

Shabbir Ahmed is what you would refer to as a gentle giant. Polite, respectful, softly spoken and very amicable is how you could describe him. However this gentle giant is not a happy man at the moment and it's all down to the Indian Cricket League and it's false promises.

Medium fast bowler, Shabbir who represented Pakistan on 43 occasions, the last being in 2007 in Johannesburg in a Twenty/20 defeat for Pakistan is extremely unhappy with the Indian Cricket League and it's lack of payments to the players.

The Indian Cricket League was widely regarded as the "poor relation" to the Indian Premier League, but nonetheless was launched with plenty of razzmatazz and big signings such as Shane Bond, Inzamam ul Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Justin Kemp amongst others.

The ICL had dancers "doing their moves" to the latest Indian tunes, Indian film celebrities also threw their weight behind the ICL, crowds flocked in their thousands and it all seemed set for expansion and a bright future.

However what started with a bang, ended with nothing more than a whimper, as player after player left the league and asked to be released from their contracts making them eligible to represent their respective countries once again.

"The first season at Chennai Superstars was fantastic, we played some good cricket, the tournament was very enjoyable and our payments were made on time and in full. I really enjoyed myself and had no hesitation
in signing for Chennai for a second season" stated Shabbir to PakPassion.net.

"However during the second season we all started to sense there were problems when our payments were not being made. I carried on playing in the hope that eventually I would get paid, but the money never appeared. As far as I am concerned they have ripped me off" added Shabbir.

Ahmed who took 51 wickets in 10 test matches for Pakistan at a very impressive average of just over 23 continued "We worked hard, we gave our all, we stuck by our side of the bargain by playing the whole series. Promise after promise was made to make the payments, but the money never came".

Negotiations with the ICL seem to have stalled completely and now Shabbir and his colleagues are taking legal action. "We tried all of the available avenues but have got nowhere, so we have been left with no alternative other than to sue them" added Shabbir.

When asked how much he was owed by the ICL Shabbir stated "I can't disclose to you how much I am owed but let me tell you that I have received absolutely nothing for the whole of the second season and I'm very upset and hurt by all this".

Shabbir said that he would dearly love another crack at international cricket. "I'm 33 years old now, but I am as fit as some of the youngsters and believe I can still play international cricket. I'll keep taking wickets for WAPDA and then its down to the selectors to decide if they want to pick me, now that I have received by NOC".

Shabbir's career though has been blighted by suspicions over his bowling action. He was banned for one year because of a suspect bowling action and spent some time in Western Australia where his action was worked upon. "My action got the all clear and I believe I have a clean bowling action" snapped Shabbir when quizzed about his bowling action problems over the years.

ICL representatives refused to make any comments regarding outstanding payments to the players when contacted by PakPassion.net