LAHORE, Feb 21: Prolific Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf will definitely play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and no doubts shall be raised on the issue, a PCB spokesman said on Thursday.

PCB’s media director Ahsan Hameed Malik clarified that Yousuf will be receiving USD 350,000 from the organisers who offered millions of dollars to various leading cricketers of the world on Wednesday during an IPL auction.

Denying earlier reports that Yousuf has not been ‘bought’ by any of the bidders at the IPL auction on Wednesday, the PCB official said: “Though no one came forward to bid for Yousuf, like many other international cricketers, the IPL has fixed USD 350,000 as the starting bid for him which he will get from the authorities,” said Malik.

He said like Yousuf, many other cricketers of the world did not receive any bid on Wednesday and now it was the responsibility of the IPL to adjust them in different teams.

When contacted Yousuf said he had also received similar reports about getting a minimum of USD 350,000 from the IPL organisers.

He negated the impression that he had turned down PCB’s requests of taking part in the bidding process on religious grounds. “No, there is no such intention at my level and such reports are totally baseless,” he said.

Yousuf has been in the news of late for his row with the breakaway Indian Cricket League after he backed out of the contract to join the PCB-backed IPL. The ICL has threatened IPL through a letter that since the case is in the arbitration court, Yousuf should not be allowed to play in the premiere league.

Besides Yousuf, the other prominent Pakistani players in the IPL bid included Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal.