Gilchrist needs CA nod for IPL stint

Doubts were raised about the Aussie Test and ODI team regulars making it to BCCI’s much-hyped T20 event because of their tour to Pakistan, but now it is likely that Gilchrist will join retired stars Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath to India this April.

The only hurdle for Gilchrist could be to get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Cricket Australia. Under the Player’s Obligation section, 1.1 (b) of the IPL contract, cricketers will not be able to play in the IPL without the express permission (read: NOC) of their respective boards.

There is a provision in the NOC which empowers a Cricket board to enforce a two-year cooling-off period in case they feel that the player in question was truncating his international career to join the cash-rich IPL venture.

However, Gilchrist—36 years of age—has sought retirement at a time when word was out that he wasn’t fitting into CA’s scheme of things and thus getting the NOC will not be a problem.

In case that happens, there will be a scramble for him— with a strike rate of 81.95 in Tests, 96.90 in one-dayers and 145.29 in Twenty20 cricket—among the franchise to sign him at the February 8 players’ auction.

Meanwhile, Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf has been cleared by the one-man arbitration panel, hearing a petition by the rebel Indian Cricket League against the player, to take part in a the auction, PTI adds from Karachi.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board and its legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi, the arbitration panel has suspended a stay order it issued earlier against Yousuf from signing up for the IPL.

Yousuf, one of the highest-paid players in the IPL players pool, is one of the star attractions in the IPL bidding process. “I never went into a final contract with the ICL,” Yousuf said, regarding the controversy.

Bond to join ICL

•In Wellington, fast bowler Shane Bond cut his ties with New Zealand cricket today to play for the rebel Indian Cricket League, reports AFP. New Zealand Cricket confirmed today that Bond had terminated his contact after failing to reach an agreement which would have allowed him to continue his international career while playing in the Indian competition.

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