Mumbai: While everything came to a standstill as the third edition of the IPL kicked off at the DY Patil Stadium on Friday, things were normal in cricket-crazy Pakistan.

Pakistan did not react well to IPL team owners not bidding for any Pakistan players in the auction held earlier this year and have boycotted the tournament entirely.

One man, who would have been a huge draw in the tournament, is not happy at missing out on the action.

We are the defending World T20 champions and we should be playing the IPL. It s quite sad that none of the Pakistan players are playing, said Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi, adding that the tournament will lose a bit of its appeal in the absence of Pakistan players.

Without us, the tournament will have no spice. Without us, the taste of this good tournament will not be the same. Where I am concerned, I have a lot of fans in India and they must be disappointed today, said Afridi, who played for Deccan Chargers, the defending champions who went down to Kolkata Knight Riders by 11 runs in the opener.

The IPL boycott in the country is quite strong and there s not much talk of the much-awaited tournament. There is also no coverage, something, which was decided when the owners did not bid for the Pakistanis and even in the papers, IPL coverage is bare minimum.