Karachi, Nov 17 (IANS) Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) chief operating officer Wasim Bari Tuesday rejected reports that the country’s leading players have already been cleared to play in the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Bari said the concerned authorities are in the process of making a decision on IPL, adding that the matter should be resolved in the next couple of days.

“The issue is being taken care of and I hope that an announcement will be made in the next couple of days,” said Bari, a former Pakistan Test wicketkeeper.

PCB chairman Ejaz Butt, earlier this month, was reported as saying that the board had no objections to players playing in the IPL and informed the same to IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi during a meeting in India.

But the PCB has to provide a no-objection certificate (NOC) and government clearance and also ensure that their visas are in order by Nov 20, three days before the player trading season for 2010 starts.

A total of 11 Pakistani player were recruited by the Kolkata, Rajasthan, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore franchises before the inaugural IPL.

However, the franchises opted to retain the contracts of only four of them - Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir (Rajasthan), Misbah-ul-Haq (Bangalore) and Umar Gul (Kolkata) - after it became clear they would not be able to play in the second season of the league in the wake of last November’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai.