Lahore, May 21 : PCB Chief Operating Officer Shafqat Naghmi has said that the Board doesn't regret allowing its fast bowler Mohammad Asif to play for the 'Delhi Daredevils' in the IPL, despite him sustaining as many as four stitches in the right palm.

He said that injury can happen to a player anytime anywhere.

It will take at least seven days' time for the stitches heal up and are cut, and the injury is likely to keep the fast bowler out of the rest of the tournament. It is also possible that the injury keeps Asif from playing a full part for Pakistan in the tri-series tournament in Bangladesh from June 8, said The News.

The PCB's approach to allowing their players to participate in the IPL is in contrast to its policy towards county cricket. After a calamitous run of injuries to their fast bowlers last year, the PCB formulated a policy to reserve the right to prevent a contracted player from playing for counties in England.

Fast bowlers such as Asif and Umar Gul have not been allowed to take part in county cricket in order to protect them from potential injuries from a greater workload.

No such problem exists with the IPL, said Naghmi and added: "The county workload, where you bowl 20 overs a day at times, and the IPL workload, where you bowl just four, is very different. There is not much chance of the workload being high in the IPL, so we don't see a problem with that. Obviously if a player was injured or there is a real fear of injury, we wouldn't allow a player to play in the IPL, but we don't see a problem otherwise."

Asif split the webbing on his right hand in a game against the Deccan Chargers and has had stitches put in since. He's getting fit. He has four stitches on his hand. The doctors told us it would be a week before we could open them. Let's wait and see," the paper quoted Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag as saying.

According to the paper, if the new injury does prevent Asif from playing for Pakistan in the tri-series, the PCB is likely to bear the brunt of criticism for allowing him to play in India, though an official insisted there was nothing wrong with Asif going to India and that the injury could've happened "anytime, anywhere."

"We have been in touch with the doctors in India. He has split the webbing but the stitches are in and will stay there for a week," said Naghmi.