October 04, 2007	Thursday	Ramazan 21, 1428

KARACHI, Oct 3: Pakistani cricket chiefs said on Wednesday that they would make a decision on the fate of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the next few days after the former skipper said he wanted to keep playing.

Inzamam announced his retirement from One-day Internationals and resigned the Test and one-day captaincy following Pakistan’s shocking first-round exit from the World Cup in the West Indies in March.

The 37-year-old master batsman, who has scored 8,813 runs in 119 Tests, ruled himself out of the ongoing first Test against South Africa in Karachi this week without giving a reason.“Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Dr Nasim Ashraf has clearly stated that all the policy decisions regarding Inzamam will be announced in the next couple of days, which will be in the larger interest of Pakistan cricket’s future,” a board statement said.

The statement denied media reports that the PCB and Inzamam have struck a deal for the former captain to get around 150,000 US dollars to retire from Test cricket.

“The newspaper report that the PCB has carried out a deal with Inzamam by assuring him a guaranteed sum of 10 million rupees for his retirement from Test cricket, is absolutely incorrect,” it said.

Inzamam said in an interview published in a local newspaper on Wednesday that he had informed Pakistani selectors about his availability for the second Test in Lahore starting from Oct 8.

“I am fully fit and have no plans to retire,” said Inzamam. “I don’t want to leave the game. I want to play as long as I am fit and can perform.”

Inzamam needs just 20 runs to beat Javed Miandad’s Pakistan Test record of 8,832 runs.

Inzamam joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) in August along with three other Pakistani players – Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat.

Yousuf returned to the Pakistan fold last week on the persuasion of the PCB, dropping his ICL commitment to sign a central contract. Yousuf, however, pulled out of the first Test against South Africa, saying he was not match fit.

“I have informed the selectors that I am available to play the Lahore Test and now it’s up to them to select me or not,” said Inzamam, who played for the English County Yorkshire on a short-term basis last month.

Meanwhile, Inzamam said that since he hoped he would play in the second Test there is little chance he will go to London to attend a hearing as a witness in umpire Darrell Hair’s race discrimination case.

Hair has sued his employers, the International Cricket Council (ICC), for allegedly banning him from standing in a Test or One-day International since The Oval Test controversy in August 2006.

“I have informed the tribunal about my not coming to London as I may be busy playing the (Lahore) Test,” he said.

The Australian umpire docked Pakistan five runs on suspicion of ball-tampering in the fourth and final Test against England at The Oval, leading Inzamam to refuse to take his team back on to the field. The umpires then awarded the match to England on forfeit.

Inzamam was later cleared of the ball-tampering charge but was banned for four one-day matches for bringing the game into disrepute. —Reuters/AFP