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 [Images] 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 [Images] 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 [Images], Shoaib Malik [Images], Mohammad Asif [Images], Shoaib Akhtar [Images], Younis Khan, Umar Gul and Kamran Akmal were signed up by different franchise teams. Mohammad Hafeez [Images] has also entered into a contract with the IPL.