Karachi: Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf faces a lifetime ban if he joins the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official warned on Thursday.
The premier batsman signed a contact to play in the ICL last year but pulled out before it began.
Now Yousuf is believed to be again considering joining the ICL as he apparently does not feature in Pakistan's one-day and Twenty20 plans.
Pakistan selectors consider Yousuf a specialist Test batsman and are unlikely to include him in next month's four-nation Twenty20 tournament in Canada.
But Yousuf believes he can be equally useful in the shorter versions of the game and was apparently unhappy at being overlooked.
The PCB official said Yousuf would be treated like the rest of the "rebel" cricketers if he played in the ICL.
The official said: "We have banned all our cricketers, who joined the ICL and if Yousuf will also play for the unauthorised league then he will have to face the same punishment.
"Yousuf is still our best Test batsman and has a future with the Pakistan team but not if he joins the ICL.
"It will be game over for him if he joined the rebel league," he said.
