Karachi, May 29: : As the inaugural Indian Premier League is inching towards the climax, the Pakistan Cricket Board has made it clear that they will not consider players’ performance in the IPL while selecting the national squad for the tri-nation series in Bangladesh next month.

“We are not going to consider the players’ showing in the IPL,” chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed told The News in Karachi.

Ahmed said the 15-member side to be picked up “purely on merit” ignoring Pakistan cricketers’ performance in the ongoing Twenty20 tournament.

“This is because we believe that Twenty20 is a different ball game and you can’t compare it to proper One-day Internationals where you have to play 50-over games,” Ahmed said.

The tri-nation series, involving hosts Bangladesh and India, will begin on June 8 and all the matches will be played in Dhaka.

Interestingly, young pacer Sohail Tanvir, playing for Rajasthan Royals, is among the best bowlers of the IPL with an enviable economy rate of 5.97. Other than Tanvir, most of the other Pakistani players, including captain Shoaib Malik (Delhi Daredevils), have failed to make their mark in the IPL.
Source:cricket.expressindia.com