Yousuf still with us: Indian Cricket League

The breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL) said on Friday that Pakistan star batsman Mohammad Yousuf will turn out for them despite agreeing to play for his country.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday Yousuf, 33, had broken his contract with the ICL and signed up to represent the national team in the Test series against South Africa starting on Monday.

But an official of Zee Telefilms, which is bankrolling the multi-million-dollar rebel league, billed to start later this year, said Yousuf was still with them.

"All I can say is that Yousuf can always play for Pakistan whenever he is needed there, we have always maintained that," Zee executive vice-president Ashish Kaul told local media.

"The ICL will never stop him from playing for Pakistan. But that does not mean that he has broken his contract with us."

"Right now, I can tell you that the contract is still on. He will play for the ICL as per the contract. If there is anything else to this, then we have not been told about it yet."

The Indian and Pakistani cricket boards have said that any player who turns out for the ICL will be ineligible to represent the country in official cricket.

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, opener Imran Farhat and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq also signed up to the rebel league.

Yousuf scored a world record 1,788 runs in 2006 and was voted the best Test player of the year at the recent International Cricket Council awards ceremony in Johannesburg.

He said on Thursday he had signed a central contract with the Pakistan board after a lengthy meeting with its chairman Nasim Ashraf in Lahore.

"I have always wanted to play for my country and I can sacrifice my life for my country," he told a press conference.

"I did not know about the clause in the Indian league contract that if both the league and Pakistan team matches are held at the same time I had to give preference to the league. I cannot agree to that," Yousuf added.

The ICL, which plans to hold Twenty20 tournaments between city teams for the next three years, has been unable to fix a date for the first event, which was originally supposed to take place in October.

The Indian board, apparently in a bid to counter the ICL, has announced its own international Twenty20 league to be held in April-May next year.

Source : http://cricket.indiatimes.com/