The Pakistan Cricket Board said Wednesday it will respect a Sindh High Court decision lifting the ban on its players competing in the non-sanctioned Indian Cricket League. “We bow before the order of the court,” PCB lawyer Shaan Gul told reporters. The hearing of case was adjourned Wednesday until Feb. 25, but Gul said the PCB would recognize an interim stay on the ban, and all the 11 players who filed the case were eligible to compete in domestic cricket in Pakistan. “The players can absolutely take part in domestic cricket as of now.” Earlier this month, the court lifted the ban from Mohammad Sami, Abdul Razzaq, Hasan Raza, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Yousuf, Rana Naved, Tahir Mughal, Shahid Yousuf, Hafiz Khalid, Naved Latif and Shahid Nazir. The players' appearance in the ICL – a Twenty20 league which runs in competition to the officially recognized Indian Premier League – prompted the PCB to imposed a ban on them playing both domestic and international cricket. “The present board does not support the manner in which the ban was imposed by the previous administration,” Gul said. However, the PCB lawyer said that the board will contest a separate case against Yousuf for joining the ICL, as it allegedly violated his central contract for national team players. “Although we have no objection on Yousuf playing in domestic cricket, he has violated the central contract (of players),” Gul said. “Yousuf took 10 million rupees ($126,000) from the previous board and promised not to play in the ICL, but later he joined the ICL last year.” PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said the International Cricket Council has no objection on players competing in domestic cricket wherever such players file legal cases. “The International Cricket Council has said wherever the ban is challenged legally they can let them play,” Butt said. However, the PCB chief said that strict measures would be in place from June 1 on all players participating in unrecognized leagues. “Now the ICC can punish countries with fines and sanctions (on cricket board) if they let players appear in unauthorized leagues.” Asif banned by IPL for 12 months Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has been formally banned for one year from the lucrative Indian Premier League after testing positive for nandrolone during last year's inaugural tournament. “Mohammad Asif was found guilty by the IPL drug tribunal in as much as a prohibited substance namely Nandrolone was found in the urine sample from the player during the support period and the match played on May 30 2008 between the Delhi Daredevils and the Rajasthan Royals at Mumbai,” the IPL's three-man anti-doping tribunal said in a statement published Wednesday by Cricinfo.com. Asif said he will consult his lawyer and doctor before deciding to appeal against a 12-month ban. “I will consult both my lawyer and doctor whether I should appeal against the ban or not,” Asif told reporters in Lahore. The ban means Asif will be ineligible for IPL or any other international or first-class cricket until Sept. 21, taking in the entirety of the second season of the Twenty20 competition. However Pakistan's government had already ruled its players would not take part in the 2009 Indian league for political reasons in the wake of last year's Mumbai terrorist attacks. PCB chief hits back PCB chairman Ijaz Butt hit back Wednesday at severe government criticism of the board's financial management, saying the country's Senate has “no powers” to interfere in cricket affairs. The PCB chief faced volleys of questions from Senate's standing committee this week, with Senator Enver Baig calling for Butt to step down and make way for professional administrators. “They are running the PCB like a grocery shop and know nothing about anything,” Baig said. Much of the questioning was over the financial management of the country's cricket board, but Butt responded Wednesday by saying the PCB was not answerable to the senators. “They can criticize us as much they like, but they have no powers and can't give us the direction,” Butt said Lahore.
