Gloucs not giving up on Gul

11 April 2007

Umar Gul © Getty Images

Gloucestershire are hoping paceman Umar Gul will join them for part of this season despite the Pakistan Cricket Board’s refusal to release him.

The PCB have told Gul and fellow seamer Mohammad Asif not to accept any contracts because of their respective fitness problems.

“This is disappointing news,” Gloucestershire chief executive Tom Richardson said. “We’ve been trying over the last few days to secure Umar Gul’s release.

“We’re still hopeful we’ll be able to get him over here for a period of time this summer. That said, we are, of course, looking at alternatives.”

Zakir Khan, director of cricket operations for the PCB, said: “The bowlers have faced fitness problems and it hit the performance of the team. For the moment, we have told them not to accept any contracts.”

Gul has played 14 Tests for Pakistan, claiming 61 wickets, including 18 on last summer’s tour of England.

He was also part of the side that crashed out of the World Cup last month.

Gloucestershire had already signed Ashley Noffke as cover for Gul for the early part of the summer, with the county expecting Pakistan to be involved in the Super Eight stage in the Caribbean.