Pakistan players unsure if they will play in Twenty20 Cup

The top Pakistan players including captain Inzamam-ul-Haq have still not decided on whether to play in the much-hyped ABN-AMRO Twenty20 Cup tournament being held in Karachi from February 24, immediately after the ongoing home series against India ends.

A couple of players this correspondent spoke to said they had not decided as yet as the tournament was a regional based one and they were not required by their departments with whom they are employed. "The captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and coach Bob Woolmer will decide what to do. If they feel all the Pakistan players should appear in the Twenty20 Cup then so be it. But they are also thinking on lines that we have been playing non-stop cricket including domestic games for our departments since early October and there is just a gap of 20 days before the team embarks on the tour to Sri Lanka on March 12."

The inaugural Twenty20 tournament was a roaring success last year in Lahore drawing big crowds with most of the big names appearing for their regions including express bowler Shoaib Akhtar and dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi.

This year the board has decided to have it in Karachi and one player said one solution could be for the main players to appear only in the final stages of the tournament and skip the preliminary round games.

Inzamam also didn't play for his native Multan in last year's event, won by Faisalabad, and sources said he is still reluctant to play this year and might take the plea he wants to rest his back for the coming tours to Sri Lanka and England.

The Pakistan Board and the sponsors of domestic cricket see the Twenty20 Cup as a major event of the national calender designed to revive interest in domestic cricket and bring in the crowds while majority of the big matches will also be televised live by the broadcasting agents of the board.