Re: Lara signs up for new Indian league/ICL approaching Pakistan players including In
Imran Farhat requests, released from PCB contract
KARACHI: Lured by the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), discarded Test opener Imran Farhat on Wednesday asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to terminate his central contract.
The left-handed batsman had signed the contract earlier this month but sources close to him say that after receiving a lucrative offer from the ICL, he decided to end his contract with the PCB.
Farhat, 25, who has featured in 27 Tests and 33 one-dayers, last played for Pakistan in a Test against South Africa in January this year. Later, he was dumped by Pakistan and also punished by the Board after he criticised the national selectors for dropping him from the national team.
“We have received an application from Imran Farhat in which he has asked us to terminate his central contract,” Dr Ahsan Hameed Malik, PCB’s Director of Communications, told ‘The News’ in a telephonic conversation from Dubai. “It is a player’s right to make such a request and we have decided to release him,” he added.
The PCB has a clear policy on the ICL according to which any player opting to sign up with the League will not be allowed to play for Pakistan again. The PCB had also announced that it will stop a player’s participation in the ICL if he had already signed a contract with the Board.
The PCB awarded lucrative central contracts to 20 of its leading cricketers and also offered retainerships to several others this summer.
Farhat’s decision to end his contract with PCB may trigger a chain reaction as several other Pakistani cricketers are also being pursued by the ICL which is reportedly offering lucrative contracts to leading cricketers from various Test-playing nations.
Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and the current national captain Shoaib Malik are included in the list of Pakistan cricketers, who have been approached by the ICL organisers. While Inzamam was dropped from the list of players offered central contracts following the World debacle, the others have all been awarded six-month contracts. However, Yousuf, Razzaq and Younis are yet to sign the contracts.
Malik said that Younis has been busy playing a match for Yorkshire in England and had informed the Board that he still needs a few days to go through the document before signing it.
“Younis is yet to receive the contract which is why we have extended the deadline for its signing by a few days,” said Malik. He revealed that Danish Kaneria has recently signed the contract.
Malik said that Yousuf has been unavailable as he is out of town on a ‘tableeghi visit’ while Razzaq has so far been completely unavailable in spite of attempts made by the Board to contact him.
“We have given the players a few more days to review the contracts before taking a decision on it,” said Malik.
Yousuf and Razzaq were overlooked by Pakistan while naming a 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Cup earlier this month. Sources close to the players claim they feel snubbed and are now seriously considering signing up with the ICL.
“Yousuf is on the verge of signing a contract with ICL,” said a source.
However, this correspondent has learnt that so far no Pakistani player, including Inzamam-ul-Haq has received anything in black and white from the ICL organisers. “So far the players have only received verbal offers from the ICL,” said a source.
SOURCES: The News International: Latest News Breaking, World, Entertainment, Royal News