Exclusive by Glenn Pearson

Kent all-rounder Azhar Mahmood has not given up hope of an international call-up after he was snapped up at the Indian Premier League auction.

The 36-year-old (pictured) was bought for $200,000 by Kings XI Punjab, where he will line up alongside the likes of Adam Gilchrist and David Hussey.

Mahmood is the first Pakistani to feature in the competition since its first edition in 2008, and Kent's player of the year is looking forward to the challenge.

"I feel very happy that the Kings XI Punjab picked me up in the auction, and I would like to thank the ECB and Kent, who have really helped with this," he said.

"I am really very excited about this. The IPL is the biggest tournament after international cricket and I have been doing well in this form of the game of late.

"It's such a big tournament, there are crowds of 60-70,000 people coming to watch you play and you are playing with and against players from around the world, so it will feel like you are playing international cricket."

Mahmood, who now qualifies as a British citizen, has not played for Pakistan since 2007, after 143 One-Day Internationals.

When asked about whether he felt featuring in the IPL would increase his chances of an international return, he said: "Everybody talks about IPL and everybody watches it, so as a professional cricketer it is a great opportunity for me to go to India and show my talent and potential there.

"You never know (about an international return) though in cricket. No one thought I would be picked from the IPL auction, but when things go your way and God helps you, you never know."