New Delhi: After Australian cricketers complained of delay in the payment of their Indian Premier League wages, Kings XI Punjab CEO Neil Maxwell today said clearing the money was a time-taking process as it involved "taxation issues".

Maxwell, who also manages top Australian cricketers like Brett Lee, Michael Hussey and Shane Watson, admitted the payments were slowly being made in phases.

"The players are being paid in installments because there are a number of taxation issues. It is the first installment that is taking the most time because it's not simple as a lot of taxes are involved," Maxwell told NDTV reacting to Australian media reports which said players were getting frustrated with long delay in their IPL payments.

Maxwell said too much was being read into the delay and asserted that every player would be paid his contract money.

"I think too much is being made out of it. It's a little lengthy process and everyone has to be patient. The players are contracted with their franchisees and they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding," he explained.

Australia's Test cricketers had a short stint at the IPL and played only for the first couple of weeks before leaving to fulfill their national commitments in the West Indies.

The top Aussie cricketers who returned included skipper Ricky Ponting, pace spearhead Brett Lee, Michael Hussey, Simon Katich and all-rounder Andrew Symonds among others.

Source : PTI