Saeed Ajmal to play in Australian Big Bash

Karachi:  Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal will play a match in the Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash after his Cricket Board allowed its players to participate in the league.

"Yes I will be going on December 6 to play one match for the Adelaide Strikers and will than return to prepare for the Indian tour," Saeed said.

The PCB decided to reverse its earlier decision of not allowing Saeed, Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal to play in the Big Bash after a request from Cricket Australia.

The Board had earlier said it wanted the players to give preference to the domestic Twenty20 championship that is due to begin from December 2 in Karachi.

"The board has now allowed the players to play in the Big Bash but they will go after appearing in matches of the T20 event," PCB official Nadeem Sarwar said.

"The players have been given permission after a request from Cricket Australia that they had already committed to their Big Bash teams. But they will return in time for the national training camp that will be set up for the tour to India," Sarwar said.

Saeed said he would return from Australia for the training camp and if his team reached the semifinals of the Big Bash, he would go back to play for them again as the knockout games will be held after Pakistan completes its tour to India.

Pakistan is due to tour India from Dec 22 to play two T20 matches and three One-day internationals.

But Afridi, who was signed up to play for the Sydney Thunder team, has decided against playing the Big Bash.

"I have informed my team that I am not going to play this season because I want to focus on the domestic T20 competition and convince the selectors that I should be in the team for the Indian tour," Afridi said.

Afridi, who has been struggling for form in the ODI and T20 formats for the last few months, said he was training hard for the coming domestic event.