LAHORE, 7 October 2007 — Under-fire Pakistani paceman Shoaib Akhtar is set to play for a recognized Indian league next year, saying he has sought permission from Pakistan’s cricket authorities.
“I have been approached by the Indian Premier League (IPL) and I have applied for permission from the Pakistan Cricket Board to sign the contract,” Akhtar told AFP yesterday.
“I always liked the Indian crowd and have always loved to play in India. Hopefully I will be in the Pakistan team for next month’s tour there and will also play in the league,” he added.
Akhtar faces disciplinary action for hitting teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat a few days before the Twenty20 world championships in South Africa last month.
The maverick bowler, who was sent home following the incident, has appeared before a three-man committee, which is likely to announce its decision later.
The IPL — a Twenty20 competition scheduled to be launched next April — was set up by Indian authorities to rival the breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL), which is being bankrolled by India’s largest media group.
The IPL — sanctioned by the International Cricket Council — will offer three million dollars in prize money and feature eight franchises participating in a 56-game season.
The top four teams will then face off in the semifinals, with the winners contesting the championship match.
Akhtar was offered a contract to play for the ICL, which he declined after Pakistan officials warned that any player signing with the rebel league would be ineligible to represent the national team.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has backed the IPL and announced that star batsmen Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq — who both signed for the ICL last month — will play for the IPL.
Yousuf last week canceled his contract with the ICL, making himself available to play for Pakistan. He was included in the team for the first Test against South Africa in Karachi, but had to pull out at the last minute due to lack of match fitness. The multimillion dollar rebel 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.
Indian Selector
Challenges Seniors
In New Delhi, India’s chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar put the senior players on notice yesterday, saying they could not take their places in the team for granted.
India’s Twenty20 celebrations have been abruptly cut short by Australia, who have raced to a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series after the first game was abandoned due to rain.
The reversal has put the spotlight on the seniors who were not part of the team that won the recent Twenty20 world championship in South Africa.
While senior-most member of the squad Sachin Tendulkar has scores of 0, 16 and 43, former skipper Rahul Dravid has managed 31 and 0. Saurav Ganguly is yet to put on his batting pads as he is recuperating from a hamstring injury.
Vengsarkar hinted that selectors might have to make tough choices if they continued to fail, amid clamor from fans to bring back youngsters from the triumphant Twenty20 squad.
“Definitely, the threshold has reduced, no question about it,” he was quoted as saying in the Mid-Day newspaper.
“There are many players like S. Badrinath and Suresh Raina who are performing with the India A side. These guys are waiting for their chance and you cannot ignore them.
“It’s a professional set-up and nobody can take their place for granted,” said the former Test opener.
India’s cricketing great Sunil Gavaskar also took a swipe at the home team’s below-par performance in the series so far.
“The heady experience of watching some stunning saves and incredible catches at the ICC World Twenty20 seems like a distant dream,” he wrote in his syndicated column for the Times of India.
