Mushtaq Ahmed would not have joined the Indian Cricket League if he knew it might end his Sussex career, according to captain Chris Adams.

The county are still waiting to discover whether their record-breaking leg-spinner will be allowed to return this season after the ECB toughened their stance on players who have joined the unofficial ICL.

Mushtaq received a No Objection Certificate from the Pakistan Cricket Board allowing him to rejoin Sussex on February 7, a week before he signed a one-year contract to play in the ICL.

But the PCB are now threatening to withdraw his NOC because they, like governing bodies throughout the world, regard the ICL as an unauthorised competition.

The PCB may not make a final decision until next Saturday, the day before the ICL's new Twenty20 tournament starts. Mushtaq is due to arrive in India next week to prepare for the event.

Adams said: "Knowing Mushy I can categorically say that if he knew he was going to be banned from playing for Sussex he would not have joined the ICL.

"This is his second home now. He has played for Sussex for longer than any other team and he would not have put his Sussex career in jeopardy."

Mushtaq's one-year ICL contract is understood to be watertight and getting out of it could involve a lengthy and expensive legal process and would incur a hefty financial penalty.

The ECB are still considering their position after announcing that any overseas player who did not have a NOC from his home board would be banned from the county game.

They held talks with the Professional Cricketers Association yesterday after the players' union sought clarification on their position.

But if their stance does not soften and Mushtaq plays in the ICL, Sussex would have less than a month to bring in a new overseas player as they bid for a hat-trick of Championships.

Adams said: "That's the worst-case scenario and we hope something can be sorted out before then.

"But I find it hard to understand why it has taken ECB so long to come up with this ruling with regards overseas players when the ICL has already been up and running since October."

Murray Goodwin has also been recruited for the ICL on a two-year contract but is not affected by the ECB's decision because he is a Kolpak registration.

Sussex's new signing Ryan Harris top-scored with an unbeaten 55 for South Australia batting at No9 in their Pura Cup game against Queensland in Adelaide yesterday.