Lahore, Oct 5 : Days after cancelling his contract with the Indian Cricket League (ICL) to play for the national team, Pakistan middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf has joined the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“Yousuf has signed a contract with the IPL,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nasim Ashraf said.

Reacting to reports that Yousuf might still play in the ICL after he backed out of the first Test South Africa citing lack of match fitness, Ashraf dismissed it categorically.

“There’s no way Yousuf is going to play in the ICL. Anybody saying that he will play in the ICL to avoid financial losses must know that the IPL will pay him handsomely,” he was quoted by the Daily Times, as telling an English daily.

Eight Sri Lankan cricketers, including Muttiah Muralitharan and Mahela Jayawardene, have already signed on with the IPL, to be organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The IPL will be launched in April 2008. It will feature eight franchises participating in a 56-game season.

The top four teams will then face off in the semi-finals, with the winners contesting the championship match. (ANI)