September 23, 2007	Sunday	Ramazan 10, 1428

KARACHI, Sept 22: Prolific middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf will meet the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Dr Nasim Ashraf on Wednesday to discuss his future with Pakistan cricket as well as the option of joining the Indian Cricket League (ICL).

PCB’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Shafqat Naghmi confirmed on Saturday that Yousuf would be meeting Dr Ashraf next week in Lahore to discuss his future with the Pakistan team. “No agenda has been finalised for this meeting. But since Yousuf is a very important member of the team, the chairman will try to persuade him to give Pakistan top priority,” Naghmi said.

The PCB chief is confident of convincing Yousuf to cancel his ICL contract and resume his services as a leading player for Pakistan. Yousuf alongwith former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat had joined the ICL last month after being overlooked from the on-going Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

Yousuf, made a record breaking 1,788 runs in 11 Tests with nine hundreds in 2006.

When contacted he said he had not given any thought to his immediate future but would like to see what the chairman has to say. “Obviously, Pakistan is my first priority. But I need to know how things can be worked out without any inconvenience to anyone,” he said.

Sources said the board was still not as serious about convincing the other three players to drop their ICL contracts but were expecting them to follow suit once Yousuf gets back into the fold. “And with the Indian board also having launched the official Premier League Twenty20 cricket, Dr Ashraf feels he is in a strong position to convince Yousuf to play.’’—Agencies