| Scores | Upcoming | Results |
Karachi: Pakistan's discarded Test opener Imran Farhat has been fined 500,000 rupees by the Pakistan Cricket Board for returning to the mainstream after he resigned from the unofficial Indian Cricket League and submitted a NOC to the Board.
"The Board has imposed the same penalty on me as they have done with other players resigning from the ICL," Farhat said.
Farhat admitted he had made a mistake by not resigning from the ICL by the amnesty deadline given by the ICC in July.
"I was busy in England because my wife was ill so things got delayed but now I am definitely targeting a quick return to the national team. There are still problems with the opening slot and I am confident I can stake a strong claim for a spot in the team," he said.
The left-handed opener, who has played 27 Tests and 33 One-Day Internationals, said he had decided to quit the ICL after waiting for a long while for his dues to be cleared and because of the uncertainty surrounding the ICL future tournaments.
"I couldn't sit around and wait any longer. I have a cricket career to look at and I am confident I can still make a comeback to the national team now," Farhat said.
Farhat joined the ICL with 26 other Pakistani players in 2007 in a mass exodus that shook Pakistan cricket but since then the private league has fallen into doldrums and five of the Pakistani players have already resigned from the ICL and returned to the national fold.
Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved and Imran Nazir resigned before Farhat and have already resumed their Pakistan careers. Yousuf, Naved and Imran have been named in Pakistan's Champions Trophy squad.
Farhat said the ICL had promised to clear his remaining dues in a month's time.
"I can only wait for this to happen. In the meantime, they have issued me the NOC and I am targeting the Test tours to New Zealand and Australia to make a comeback to international cricket," Farhat said.
