Pakistan's ICL ban excludes coaches and officials

While most boards have adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards individuals associated with the ICL, the PCB has not enforced a ban on coaches and officials associated with the unrecognised league, though it has passed sanctions on players contracted to the league.

The Pakistan board has blocked players such as Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Sami, among others, from playing for Pakistan or in domestic fixtures, but the same does not apply to former keeper Moin Khan, who is coaching Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which began on Sunday. Moin is also the coach-manager of the Lahore Badshahs, the ICL team comprising only Pakistani players.

Moin, who turned out as coach of PIA as they took on Karachi Whites at the National Stadium in Karachi, said this is his second successive season as their coach while he has been with the ICL.

"I was coach of PIA last season as well when the ICL was on," Moin told Cricinfo. "The PCB has said nothing about officials and coaches, only about players, in their ICL policy. They also are not barred, they are just not allowed to participate in domestic tournaments under the board's letter sent out to all regions and departments."

Boards around the world have barred players contracted to the ICL from appearing for their national sides and in most countries from their domestic sides as well. These bans are in place essentially because the BCCI - the "home authority" for the ICL - has refused to recognise the league. As a result, other boards have simply fallen in line. In recent weeks, however, and under a new administration, Pakistan has queried the rationale behind the policy; as many as 19 Pakistani players are contracted to the ICL.

In some countries, the bans have extended beyond players. The ECB, for example, applies its policy to officials also and it did in the cases of umpires Jeff Evans and Trevor Jesty; they were told after joining the ICL to stop or risk losing their ECB contracts. In Australia, Jason Gillespie was recently denied a stint at Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane because of his ICL links. None of the Indian coaches and officials in the ICL is employed by the BCCI or any of its members.

A board official in charge of domestic affairs said there were no plans yet for the board to extend the ban beyond players. "ICL-contracted players are not allowed to participate in domestic tournaments, but there is nothing in our policy regarding officials. And at the moment we are not going to touch on that or change that."