Pakistan's batting mainstay Misbah-ul-Haq on Wednesday signed up to play for the Kolkata team in the Indian Premier League set to start from April 18.

A source close to the Pakistan vice-captain said that Misbah had signed up for Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan's team for $ 180,000.

"Misbah today signed the contract after getting a clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board," the source told PTI.

He said Misbah was sought by the Kolkata team led by former India captain Sourav Ganguly as an afterthought to fill in for some players who might not be available for a period in May when the IPL is on.

At the IPL players auction held in Mumbai last week, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan, Umar Gul and Kamran Akmal were signed up by different franchise teams. Mohammad Hafeez has also entered into a contract with the IPL.