Yousuf to continue with ICL

Batting star Mohammad Yousuf said Saturday he would not end his contract with an unofficial Indian league, insisting that if Pakistan needs him it must solve the matter with cricket's governing body.

Yousuf was among 11 players whose ban on playing domestic cricket was lifted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Wednesday after a high court ruled the ban was unjustified.

Two years ago 19 Pakistani players who signed up for the Indian Cricket League (ICL), which is not recognised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India or the International Cricket Council (ICC), were banned from playing in Pakistan.

However, the PCB said the reprieved players could play international cricket for Pakistan only if they broke off ties with the ICL, which it regards as a rebel league.

Yousuf, 34, said PCB's stance was strange.

"How can I break my contract with the ICL, which is for a period of three years," Yousuf told reporters. "If the PCB wants me to play for Pakistan they should resolve the matter with the ICC."

Yousuf said he still hoped to play for his country.

"I am a cricketer and playing cricket is my profession. I never wanted to be embroiled in court cases but the previous PCB set-up got me entangled in court cases, and now I am unable to represent my country.

"I am still world's number two player in Test rankings and number nine in one-day rankings and have a lot to offer to my country. It is up to the PCB to realise how important I am for the team."

Yousuf denied PCB legal adviser Shan Gul's claims that "he took ten million rupees (125,000 dollars) from the board for not playing in the ICL, and shamelessly went there to play."

"He (Gul) doesn't know the facts," Yousuf said.

"I was given six million rupees for signing the contract as an 'A' grade player and six million rupees on being declared best player by the ICC in 2007.

"If anyone proves that I took money for not playing in the ICL then I will return the money," said Yousuf, whose 1,788 runs in 2006 set a world record for most runs in a calendar year.

Yousuf said he had not realised he would be banned from international cricket by signing with the ICL.

"I never knew that I will be deprived of playing for my country, which has always been my top priority. All these regulations have come after I signed the contract," he claimed.

Yousuf said he had asked Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari -- the patron of the PCB -- to resolve the matter.