Kolkata waiting for IPL stand on Shoaib

New Delhi: Despite the PCB making it clear that the ban on fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar does not stand in the way of him representing Kolkata Knight Riders, the team would rather wait for further clarification from the governing council of the IPL, Joy Bhattacharya, marketing head of the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise, told CNN-IBN on Wednesday. "Any player joining us from within our group is good news. But we haven't got any official word and we would just like to have that. But it is not the question of one franchisee but the IPL themselves. They have a rule and code of conduct and once we clear all that then only the franchisee comes into play," Bhattacharya said. He further said, "It is not the question of just us. Firstly, it would be Pakistan Cricket Board giving us the formal intimation to us and then the IPL looking into it. And only after those two hurdles are crossed, we would be more than happy to review where we can play him." Earlier, the PCB had denied Shoaib Akhtar to play in the cash-rish domestic Twenty20 competition backed by the BCCI. The IPL organising committee, too, had clarified that Shoaib won't be able to play as his board had banned him from plying his trade not just in Pakistan, but elsewhere too. "Now, there is a need to a formal intervention from the PCB to the IPL and then it would be from the IPL to the individual franchises and from there on we will taking it forward," Bhattacharya said. Referring to the recent controversy and the subsequent ban on Mumbai Indians player Harbhajan Singh, Bhattacharya said Kolkata would be cautious before taking any decision. "We have to be very careful in observing all the codes and the guidelines of the IPL. If we have bid for him, we want him on our team but as you must have seen the IPL till now, they are very strict as far as the code of conduct is concerned. "Shoaib wants to be a part of the team. We will have to look at his physical fitness and then we will take a decision to play him. But whatever we want or we would like, everything depends on what the IPL decides and we would be abide by the IPL laws," he concluded.