The PCB have banned Mohammad Yousuf from the national team after he rejoined the rebel Indian Cricket League.
Veteran batsman banned from Pakistan for joining rebel ICL
The Pakistan Cricket Board have banned Mohammad Yousuf from the national team after he rejoined the rebel Indian Cricket League on Wednesday.
34-year-old Yousuf was named in the Pakistan one-day squad to face the West Indies in Abu Dhabi, but he left the squad abruptly on Monday to travel to India.
ICL officials then announced that the veteran batsman had joined Lahore-based side Badshahs in the rebel Twenty20 league.
The PCB responded with an immediate ban on Yousuf from playing in the national team or domestic cricket competitions in Pakistan, in accordance with the universal standpoint against the unofficial ICL.
"He is banned with immediate effect to play in or for Pakistan," PCB director of cricket operations Zakir Khan said.
Contract
"We have also terminated his central contract.
"Like all the other cricket boards we have a firm policy toward ICL. We have tried to stop all our players to compete in the controversial Indian Cricket League.
"(While) he is contracted to the ICL our policy is clear he can't play for or in Pakistan, just like the other players who joined the league."
Yousuf, who has been replaced by batsman Khalid Latif in the squad to face the West Indies, signed for the ICL last year but was persuaded into ditching that move to play for Pakistan.
Apparently upset at the lack of Test action for Pakistan in the last year due to security fears in the country, Yousuf insisted he wanted to play for his country again but the decision was not his to make.
"I know I can't play for Pakistan," Yousuf said. "I want to play, but the decision is up to them (PCB). Whatever, my performance shows I can play all forms of cricket.
"(For the) last one year, I've not played Tests."
Career
Yousuf has played 79 Tests and 269 ODIs for Pakistan and scored 6,770 runs in five-day cricket and 9,242 in one-dayers during his career.
He will now link up with former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq who leads the Badshahs team, and Yousuf joins a list of 18 players from Pakistan who have joined the rebel league.
The likes of Moin Khan, Abdul Razzak, Saqlain Mushtaq, Rana Naved, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Sami and Imran Farhat are all high-profile stars banned from playing in or for their home country due to signing ICL contracts.
