Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi believes his players' lack of involvement in the IPL may help them in the T20 World Cup.

Five players - Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Misbah-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq - failed to secure visas in time to participate in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament in India, which gets under way in March.

Afridi believes the missed opportunity could be a blessing in disguise.

"It would have been good to make our IPL comeback next year, but it is now clear that we will not be able to do that," Afridi told the News.

"There is nothing we can do about it.

"Now that it has been decided that we are not playing in the IPL, we will have a perfect window to hold a proper camp and prepare for the World Twenty20."

If you think Lionel Messi should be the Champion of Champions, Vote for him now!

However, Afridi also accused the Indian Board of letting his players down by not allowing them to participate in the IPL.

"I think Pakistan have always been supportive of Indian cricket in the past which is why I was expecting India to be more positive," he said.

"But it seems that's not the case.

"I personally believe sports promotes harmony and it would have been good for both Pakistan and India if our players were allowed to participate in the IPL.

"I think the absence of our cricketers will not be good for cricket or the IPL," he said.

Super Selector: Put your thinking caps on and select your best possible combination from the ongoing test series (Three, Ind Vs SL, Aus Vs WI, NZ Vs Pak) and ODI Series (Eng Vs SA) and become a super Selector. There are exciting prizes to be won. Hurry!

The Pakistan government had refused to allow its players to travel to India for the IPL earlier this year because of simmering political tensions following the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008.

Although the IPL was shifted to South Africa, Pakistan's players stayed at home and contracts for seven players including Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar and Younus Khan were terminated.