Lahore: Missing the Indian Premier League III is actually a blessing in disguise for the Pakistani cricketers since it has allowed the players to gel well as a team and prepare better for the World Twenty20, skipper Shahid Afridi, said on Thursday.

The flamboyant all-rounder insists that he has no regrets on missing the lucrative league.

“No I don’t have any regrets at all. In a way it is a blessing in disguise for all our players that we are not playing in the IPL before the World Cup.

“Given the problems that have besieged Pakistan cricket in recent months it is good that we have got the time to work together as a team. It has allowed us to settle down and focus on the World Cup,” Afridi said.

Afridi and several other leading Pakistani players were included in the list of cricketers who were put up for auction but none of the franchises bid for any of the 11 players.

But Afridi said that issue was now behind him. “We really are not following the IPL closely. We don’t know who is playing or who is not playing because the purpose of holding this training camp has been to gel the players well and allow them to prepare as a team for the World Cup,” he added.

Afridi feels his side badly needed a break after the disastrous Australian tour.

He said defending the title in the West Indies would be a difficult task and also acknowledged his responsibility as a senior player. (PTI)