October 29, 2007	Monday	Shawwal 16, 1428

LAHORE, Oct 28: Test discard opener Taufiq Umar has opted to join the Indian Cricket League although other senior players who had earlier decided to join the league have reversed their decisions and returned back to Pakistan cricket.

Taufiq does not foresee any future prospects for himself in Pakistan cricket and has not changed his mind sources told Dawn.

In the first phase of joining the ICL, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat made the headlines.

Initially, Yousuf decided to disassociate himself from the league to rejoin the Pakistan cricket.

Abdul Razzaq, who had announced his retirement from international cricket to join the ICL, on Saturday retracted his decision and there are reports he is also thinking of saying goodbye to the ICL.

However, Inzamam has a golden chance to continue earning through cricket with the ICL, and he and Imran Farhat are still firm on their commitment with the ICL.

Taufiq’s decision who with Imran Farhat had provided three century stands as openers in the last home series against South Africa, will definitely compound Pakistan problems in finding a reliable opening pair for future.

In the ongoing series against the Proteas, Pakistan could not get a solid opening stand, forcing the selectors to make frequent changes.