The rebel Indian Cricket League has zeroed in on seven Pakistani players, including former spinners Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq, for its next edition.
Sources said apart from these two, the ICL has also sounded off Naved Latif, Hasan Reza, Mohammad Hafeez, Humayun Farhat and Imran Nazir.
Nazir and Hafeez have played recently for Pakistan, while Hasan and Latif have been consistent performers on the domestic circuit without getting a proper chance to represent Pakistan.
Both Mushtaq and Saqlain have not played for Pakistan since 2003-04 and are currently plying their wares in English county cricket.
Saqlain will also qualify as a British national to play for England in April.
Sources said the players were contacted by former Pakistan captain Moin Khan who is the ICL representative in Karachi and also coaches one of the ICL teams.
When contacted, ICL official Kiran More declined to comment on the latest signings or reports that he would be visiting Pakistan soon to complete new signings.
"I have no immediate plans to visit Pakistan and when we sign any new players we will announce them officially. That is all I can say at the moment," More, a former Indian wicketkeeper and chief selector, said.
The ICL already has six Pakistan players including former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Shabbir Ahmed and Azhar Mahmood on its payroll.
Moin had earlier said the ICL is planning to field a separate team from Pakistan to play in the next edition later this year as the breakaway league bankrolled by one of India's biggest listed media firms tries to survive the competition from the BCCI-backed Indian Premier League (IPL).
A Pakistan Cricket Board official said its policy on the ICL remains unchanged and any player signing up for the league would face the same penalties and bans that the six who have already signed for them have faced since returning home from India.
