March 27, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 18, 1429

LEEDS (England), March 26: English county Yorkshire are reported to have received clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to play for the county this summer despite his participation in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL).

A PCB official, however, denied this was the case, and said that the matter was between the county and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

It had been thought that the PCB would refuse a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in view of his ICL links, and even when Mushtaq Ahmed was granted an NOC last week, it was believed that was not relevant to Naved as he had played international cricket more recently.

Naved will now have to submit his application for registration to the ECB which is unlikely to be refused if he has an NOC as the board has always maintained that the certificate was the key document in the process.

But a PCB official said that an NOC had not been given, though he suggested it might not be needed in this case.

“Rana Naved is not contracted to the PCB anymore and he is not allowed to play domestic cricket in Pakistan either.

“Therefore, this is a matter for Yorkshire and the ECB to resolve among themselves now. We have not given an NOC because he is not contracted to us, nor will he play domestically.”

If Naved does play, this would seem to indicate a loosening in the policy all major countries have so far adopted against players participating in the

ICL, by barring them from playing elsewhere internationally or domestically.—Agencies