Former Pakistan fast bowler spoke exclusively to PakPassion.net about the matter of unpaid dues from his involvement in the now defunct, Indian Cricket League (ICL)

By Amir Husain (23rd May, 2014)

The Indian Cricket League (ICL), a T20 tournament unlike its more illustrious counterpart from the same country, lasted just 2 seasons between 2007 and 2009. Funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, the ICL comprised of 9 teams from India and its neighbours, Pakistan and Bangladesh but lacked support from the BCCI and ICC which lead to its eventual demise in 2009.

During it’s brief history, the Pakistani contingent at the ICL was represented by the Lahore Badshahs who were crowned Champions in 2008 and consisted of some well known Pakistani players. They were coached by the current Pakistan Manager and Chief of Selectors, Moin Khan and lead by former Pakistan Captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq. The team boasted some prominent figures in Pakistan cricket such as Azhar Mahmood, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved, Mohammad Sami, Imran Nazir, Shabbir Ahmad and Shahid Nazir. The players appearing in the ICL from Pakistan were subsequently banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) but later allowed to represent their country and play domestic cricket after submitting apologies

Whilst the idea of playing a tournament with other international stars would be of immense interest to all Pakistani players in terms of experience gained, it was also a fact that the financial rewards offered by the ICL for some of the players who were not regulars in the Pakistan team were an overriding factor in their participation.

When the ICL ended it’s existence in 2009 under financial duress and pressure from the BCCIs plans to start it’s own venture (IPL), the Pakistani players had to bid farewell to a lucrative assignment and they would have been looking forward to receiving their handsome paycheques but for some, this did not happen.

Thirty six year old Shahid Nazir who claimed 36 Test wickets in 16 matches, is one of the aggrieved parties who, in recent past, has taken the legal route to recover his earnings. In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, the former Pakistan fast bowler indicated that Moin Khan was to blame for the non-payment of dues to many of the players stating that “Moin Khan was definitely our agent as well as our coach when we played at the ICL. He was involved in ensuring players signed up to the tournament and took 15% of the money we were due to receive.”

As was widely reported in the media, Nazir tried before to settle the issue via the legal route before but was dissuaded by the likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf to allow a more amicable resolution to this issue. However, Nazir has not given up and is convinced that Moin Khan is solely responsible for the non-payment of dues.


“There's a lot of money still owed to the Lahore Badshah players including PKR 60-70 Lakh prize money. None of the players were ever paid in full. The problem is that we aren't sure if Moin Khan took the money off the ICL and then didn't pay us or whether he didn't receive the monies due to us from the ICL organisers. I find it hard to believe that there was such a shortfall in the monies received by Moin. Some players are even saying that Moin received the money but has not distributed it onto the players!”

Given the fact that Pakistani players have not been able to play in the much lucrative IPL and also face limited opportunities to earn money at home and abroad, the matter of dues is a serious one and Nazir feels that many of his Lahore Badhsah team mates and he do not have a choice but to approach the courts to move forward.

“There are eleven players taking legal action which are myself, Imran Nazir, Shabbir Ahmed, Riaz Afridi, Naved Latif, Tahir Mughal, Hafiz Khalid, Shahid Yousaf, Rana Naved, Taufiq Umar and Arshad Khan. We are in discussions with our lawyers and once the groundwork has been done by our legal teams then we will take the matter further. “

“At this moment in time our legal representatives are looking at whether to take legal action against Moin Khan or the organisers of the ICL. The preparations are well under way regarding legal action and further details will be available soon. We are owed money, it's our livelihood and we earned those monies, they should be paid to us.”


Whilst the ICL ended in 2009, it’s name has recently resurfaced in headlines due to corruption allegations centered around New Zealand batsman, Lou Vincent who played as wicket-keeper for the World XI team in the ICL. Evidence obtained by the ACSU shows that he was involved in fixing games in the ICL and has admitted fixing 4 games in the now defunct league.

The news about Lou Vincent is a matter of grave concern for Nazir who prides himself for his own honesty and denies partaking in any corrupt practices, but he is nevertheless aware of the reasons why allegations are being made as he explained in detail, “I was never offered any money by any bookie while I played at the ICL. When I played in the ICL tournament which was in 2008, I never suspected any wrongdoing from any players and nobody in my presence ever mentioned that they had been approached by a bookie. However, after the tournament had finished then rumours started to circulate and that got me thinking regarding certain incidents and matches. I'm, therefore, not surprised by Lou Vincent's allegations.”

With almost 5 years elapsed since the end of ICL, Shahid Nazir and other players are still waiting for their just rewards but the unwanted attention brought onto the name of the league which was their main source of income must be a cause of concern. Nazir hopes that he and others will be paid their dues and feels that suspicious activities in cricket are facts of life “This is nothing new in cricket and corruption is unfortunately a sad reality of modern day cricket”, he concluded.

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