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MUMBAI:
It's game on between the Subhash Chandra's Indian Cricket
League (ICL) and the Board for Control of Cricket in India
(BCCI). The Zee Group's breakaway cricket body has announced
a stellar list of 51 international and local talent, among
the highlights being the presence of Pakistani stars Inzamam-ul-Haq,
Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat.
The
ICL has also roped in big hitting South African Lance Klusener
and countrymate Nicky Boje. Earlier, West Indian legend Brian
Lara had confirmed his acceptance to captain of one of ICL's
six city teams.
 Despite
threats from the BCCI to issue a lifetime ban on any player
associating with the ICL and a ban on the rebel league from
using any Indian grounds to conduct matches, a slew of Indian
domestic players have joined the Zee cricket bandwagon. These
include Dinesh Mongia, Ritendu Singh Sodhi, JP Yadav, Deep
Dasgupta, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and T Kumaran. Appointed as the
captain of the under 19 category is Ambati Rayudu.
ICL
will commence its first season in November-December, says
ICL project head Himanshu Mody. "The action starts with
the 20/20 format and later we will also introduce the 50-overs
and three-day match formats," he adds.
There will be six teams from six cities including Mumbai,
Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. Each
team will have at least four international players.
"We
have already signed seven international players and are in
negotiations with others including the Australian stars,"
says Mody.
On
being queried as to how many days of cricket will the international
players play in a year, Mody has this to offer. "They
will be involved in 30-40 matches. The domestic players will
be engaged in 8-9 months of cricket."
What
is the money that ICL is offering to the players? "I
wouldn't like to confirm on the commercial contracts of each
player," he says. But with BCCI recently doubling the
amount to the Ranji players, ICL obviously is luring the cricketers
with big sums of money.
Mody adds that the league is talks with sponsors and is also
finalizing details in terms of venues where matches will be
held. Going forward, the plan is to also play matches overseas.
"The 51 players will join the six teams of the inaugural
Indian Cricket League. They will be provided with the necessary
infrastructure, guidance and training to compete at the highest
level. The Indian players will play an average of 50 matches,"
says Mody.
ICL
chairman executive board Kapil Dev says, "When we made
our first steps a few months back, there was doubt about where
we would get players from. Today we have provided the answer.
This is the new breed of Indian cricketers and we are confident
that they will entertain the country."
Replying
to a query on whether BCCI's tough stance would spoil the
chances of some of these upcoming cricketers in representing
the country, Dev put the ball on the cricket board's court.
"We have nothing against the BCCI. Our boys are free
to play for the country," he says.
Abhishek Jhunjhunwala admits that joining the ICL provides
a "good security" while "allowing us to play
more cricket."
ICL
member executive board Kiran More says, "I have followed
the progress of these cricketers from the beginning of their
careers. I believe that they possess the killer instinct which
is the foundation of the ICL. The players will be conditioned
to show power and speed on the field as we can no longer afford
to buckle under the pressure of competition."
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