DUBAI: The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) is investigating whether Usman Khan’s decision to declare his intention to play for Pakistan constitutes a breach of his contract with the UAE board.
ESPNcricinfo understands the ECB is reviewing the case to assess potential breaches of contract not only with the board itself, but also with the white-ball leagues he played in as a local player in the UAE, including the ILT20 and T10.
The decision on the review, which ECB sources told ESPNcricinfo will be completed in the next fortnight, could have significant implications for Usman. It is understood he could face a ban from league cricket in the UAE, robbing him of the most financially lucrative cricket he has played in his career so far.
If a breach of contract is deemed to have occurred, there will also be consequences for the player’s work permit, under which he lived in the UAE to meet the residency requirement to qualify to play international cricket for the UAE; he still has 14 months to meet those criteria.
Usman believes he has not breached any contract and disputes that his contract contains an exit clause with a 30-day notice period. It is understood that he is resigned to any sanction imposed on him by the ECB and that the lure of playing for Pakistan when the PCB came calling after the PSL was too tempting to turn down.
Usman was asked by the PCB if he still wished to play for Pakistan, to which he replied in the affirmative. On Monday, he was named in the Pakistan camp, which is currently training with the Pakistan Army in a PCB initiative to boost the fitness of players. He joined the camp on Sunday evening and ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB is looking to quickly get him into the Pakistan side ahead of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand next month.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo on the eve of the PSL final – in which he was the second-highest run-scorer – Usman apparently downplayed his chances of playing for Pakistan, talking about the ease of getting NOCs to play in leagues around the world as a UAE player and the benefits of being considered as a local player in limited-overs leagues UAE. But events have moved quickly since then.
But with him yet to play international cricket for any nation, a tug-of-war broke out for a player who appears to be at the peak of his powers at the moment. The ECB’s decision to announce an immediate review indicated that they are not willing to overturn and let what they consider their player to be stolen from under their noses by the PCB.
Usman’s decision comes down to the appeal of playing in the world’s biggest tournaments – such as the T20 World Cup in June, which appears to be a shoo-in with Pakistan – balanced against the lucrative nature of the independent T20 specialist affiliated to the United Arab Emirates . While he appears to have chosen the former over the latter for now, much may depend on the outcome of the ECB’s review.
