I had signed contract with Knight Riders last August: Razzaq

The exclusion of Pakistani cricketers from this year's Indian Premier League tournament was a premeditated plan, according to all rounder Abdul Razzaq.

Razzaq pointed to his own example as proof that the franchises were under instructions not to bid on any Pakistani players.

"I signed a contract with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in August 2009 so I was already signed up to an IPL team before the 2010 IPL auction took place," Cricistan.com quoted Razzaq, as saying.

The presence of the Pakistani all rounder in the IPL III was problematic for those who wanted to ensure that no players from Pakistan took part.

Razzaq was already under contract and they needed to find a way around this. So they convinced him to relinquish his contract with Kolkata and submit his name for the auction, the website reports.

"I had already signed for Kolkata but they told me they wanted to add my name to the auction list. They said that I would be worth a lot more at the auction than my current contract. So I signed a waiver on my Kolkata contract and they got what they wanted.

"It was a plan from the start, they didn't allow any franchises to bid on Pakistani players. You can't hide these things in the modern world, it's an open secret that this was a political decision from the Indian government," Razzaq said.

Razzaq said it's a shame that the world of sports is being dragged into politics because sport has the power to become a unifying force.