Yousuf joins rebel league, Pakistan future in doubt: PCB
CT Correspondent
November 3, 2008, 11:56 pm
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KARACHI, November 3, 2008 (AFP) - Star Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf has joined the rebel Twenty20 cricket league in India in a move which could end his international career, an official said on Monday.
The comments came just hours after the 34-year-old batsman was included in the 15-man squad for next week's three-match series against the West Indies at Abu Dhabi.
"Yousuf's wife has conveyed to us that he has left for India and would be playing in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) but we are waiting for facts and figures before taking any action against him," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director of operations Zakir Khan told AFP.
The PCB has a strict policy of banning all players who have joined the unrecognised ICL, which is bankrolled by India's largest media group, Zee television.
Around 15 Pakistani players, including former captain Inzamam-ul Haq, joined the league last year and were barred from both international and domestic cricket by the PCB.
Khan said he was waiting to hear clarification from Yousuf, but admitted the batsman had jeopardised his career.
"Yousuf has also signed for the Indian Premier League (IPL) which is recognised by the International Cricket Council and so it's something we cannot say much on, but yes, our policy remains the same on ICL," said Khan.
"But we would wait to hear from Yousuf himself as he is under PCB contract and once he confirms this to us then only we can decide what action we can take against him."
Yousuf, whose 1,788 runs in 2006 is a calendar-year record, previously signed a contract with the ICL after he was omitted from Pakistan's Twenty20 World Cup squad in September last year.
But the PCB later convinced him to tear up the contract and instead sign with the IPL.
A Mumbai arbitrator banned Yousuf from playing in any league in India other than the ICL over breach of contract - a decision which Yousuf challenged in an Indian court. The court is to hear the case on November 21 and 22.
PCB legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said of Yousuf's decision: "I have been finalising his statement for the next hearing and on hearing this I am left with no words to say.
"If he has signed for the ICL, definitely the IPL will not spare him."
Yousuf has played 79 Tests and 269 one-day internationals for Pakistan since making his debut in 1998.
Yousuf converted to Islam from Roman Catholicism in 2005, a move he claimed helped him become a better batsman.
November 3, 2008, 11:56 pm
