Pakistan opener Imran Farhat has confirmed that he has snapped ties with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), making himself available for official cricket. Imran met Wasim Bari, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) interim chief operating officer, and submitted a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the ICL.
The PCB will adopt the same procedure applied in the case of the other ICL players. Imran joined the rebel league in 2007, a year before the general exodus of Pakistan players.
All those affiliated to the ICL were banned by the PCB and kept out of domestic cricket. Imran said the PCB had fined him Rs 500,000. “The PCB has imposed the same penalty on me as they have done with other players resigning from the ICL,” he added.
Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Yousuf, Rana Navedul Hasan and Imran Nazir also snapped ties with the ICL earlier this year and returned to the Pakistan fold. The future of the ICL itself appears bleak due to a cash crunch, with a majority of its players – both Indian and overseas – pulling out. Imran said he regretted joining the ICL and was desperate to play more cricket than the league was organising. “Joining the ICL was a mistake I realised later on,” he said. “I realised it when I found that playing for the ICL meant playing just one tournament in a year, which is not enough to satisfy the hunger for cricket.”
Imran, who has played 27 Tests and 33 one-day internationals, admitted he had made a mistake by not resigning from the ICL by the amnesty deadline given by the ICC in July. “I was busy in England because my wife was ill so things got delayed but now I am definitely targeting a quick return to the national team. There are still problems with the opening slot and I am confident I can stake a strong claim for a spot in the team,” he said.
Imran’s ICL team-mate Mohammad Sami has also expressed regret at joining the ICL and is still awaiting payment due to him, which he claims is more than Rs 10 million. “It was a bad decision because it ruined my international career. But now I cannot leave the league until my dues are cleared,” Sami said. The fast bowler said he would meet former captain Moin Khan – the ICL’s representative in Pakistan – to get his dues cleared.