In another twist in the saga of the Indian Cricket League, ace Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf agreed to cancel his contract with the ICL. Pakistan cricket Board chairman Nasim ashraf confirmed Yousuf had signed a central contract with the PCB.
Yousuf claimed he was unaware of a clause in the ICL contract requiring him to give priority to the ICL in the case of a conflict of scheduling between ICL 20-20 matches and matches to be played by the Pakistan cricket team.
Mohammad Yousuf had signed with the ICL after having been overlooked for the captaincy and being ignored for the ICC twenty twenty world cup. Mohammad Yousuf was chosen as the ICC Test player of the year at a ceremony in South Africa prior to the Twent Twenty world cup. He had scored a record 1788 runs in 11 test matches last year.
The other Pakistani players to have signed up with the ICL are former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and young opening batsman Imran Farhat. The Pakistan Cricket Board on had earlier declared that any player signing up with the rebel ICL would not be considered for selection for the Pakistan team in the future.
The volte face of Maohammad Yousuf is another setback to the ICL after the announcement of the rival Indian Premier League by the BCCI. The announcement of the IPL has prompted players like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, who were on the verge of signing with the ICL to side with the IPL .The Indian Premier League is backed by the ICC as well as the cricket boards of the countries of Australia, England and South Africa.
Source : BBC
Image : BBC
