Britain Club to offer deal to Zulqarnain

The chairman and founder of Lashings World X1 has said his club would be happy to invite Zulqarnain Haider to play for it after April 24, when the former wicketkeeper returns to Pakistan after withdrawing his asylum application.

Haider said last week he had been assured of “highest level of security” by Interior Minister Rehman Malik and did not see “any reason to seek sanctuary in Britain anymore”.

Speaking to The News here, David Folb described Zulqarnain Haider as a “fine player with a lot of cricketing talent” and said it was the reason he offered a contract to the player when he applied for asylum in Britain in November last year. The sporting PR guru and businessman said his club would seek permission from the English Cricket Board (ECB), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA), besides the immigration clearance for Haider. The Lashings World XI is a famous cricket team, founded by Folb in 1984. Based in Kent, the team is known for attracting a number of famous international cricketers and other celebrities to its ranks, including many Pakistan cricket great. “We would treat Haider like any other player,” Folb said adding that Lashings had a galaxy of Pakistani greats like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Waseem Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Muhammad Akram and Rashid Latif. He said the original offer made to Haider when he came to London to seek asylum still stood and a similar offer will be made in the future.