ICL announces eventful season for 2008

Subhash Chandra’s Indian Cricket League (ICL) which kick started its first season in November, will host 5 tournaments in 2008. The announcement was made today by Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra and Kapil Dev, chairman of the executive board, ICL.

The second season of ICL will roll-out in February and will include 50-over matches as well.

” It is indeed heartening to see the response Indian Cricket League (ICL) has been able to generate in India and across the globe. After a successful launch in keeping with the promise made, ICL is proud to announce its cricket calendar for the coming season.” ICL conducted its first 20-20 championship at the Tau Devilal cricket stadium at Panchkula, Chandigarh from November 30 to December 16, Subhash Chandra, chairman, Essel Group said.

ICL’s 2008 event calender will begin in February with a 50-over tournament featuring domestic cricketers, to be followed by a Twenty20 triangular series. In March-April, ICL will organise the ICL Grand Championship in which 8 teams will participate in a Twenty20 tournament. By April- May, the league will open academies across cities. September-October will witness the ICL Invitation Cup (a 20 over a side tournament in which 8 teams will participate). The season will conclude in November-December with the second edition of ICL Twenty20 Indian Championship.

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Shane Bond joins rebel Indian Cricket League

Fast bowler Shane Bond left New Zealand to play in the rebel Indian Cricket League, clinging to hope the ICL will eventually be officially recognised and that his international career may resume.

"I'm sure the restraint of trade things will eventually be tested and who knows what will open up. The landscape is changing all the time," Bond said.

New Zealand has joined all Test-playing nations in refusing to sanction the ICL, while allowing its players to join the Indian Premier League which will operate under the auspices of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Bond, 32, will receive a reported USD 800,000 a year for playing in the ICL. In doing so, he has had to give up his international career because New Zealand Cricket has instructed its national selectors not to consider players with ICL connections.

Bond is shortly to join the English county Hampshire on a short-term contract but that involvement might also suffer because of his ICL involvement. The England and Wales Cricket Board has warned that players with an ICL affiliation may not receive the necessary clearances to be registered for county play.

"The ECB board (is) determined to disassociate and distance itself from any promoter, agent or individual involved in such events," it said in a statement yesterday.

"It was further noted that unqualified cricketers requiring a 'no objection certificate' to be registered for cricket in England and Wales are unlikely to receive such certificates from their home boards if they participate in unauthorised events.

"In order to protect the genuine interests in the development of grassroots and county cricket and protecting anti-doping and anti-corruption measures, the ECB policy to condemn unauthorised events will be taken into consideration when evaluating any application to register players for county cricket.

resource:www.expressindia.com

Six more Pak players may join ICL

Six more Pak players may join ICL

Reports have suggested that at least six more Pakistan cricketers may join the ICL, and they are mainly players who don’t have permanent places in the national team.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has already banned six of its Indian Cricket League (ICL) players from playing domestic cricket.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Shabbir Ahmed, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat and Azhar mahmood have been told that they cannot represent their parent department in any PCB-recognised tournament after participating in the recently held ICL.

Farhat, Umar and Ahmed have said that they will move the courts over the ban.

Meanwhile, the PCB’s Media Director, Ahsan Hameed Malik, has confirmed the player ban.

“Yes, the PCB has written a letter to all the affiliated units on December 6, instructing them not to allow (to play) any such players, who are involved with any league cricket, not recognized by the board,” the Dawn quoted Malik, as saying.

“The PCB is only punishing the players to please its Indian counterpart, otherwise there is nothing wrong in the entire matter,” Imran countered.

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Success of ICL tournament justified participation: Hall

Johannesburg : Despite his side, Chandigarh Lions, losing to the Chennai Superstars in the final of the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 tournament, South African cricketer Andrew Hall has said the success of the inaugural event justified the participation of international players, most of whom have been branded rebels.Writing in his weekly column “Report from a Rebel” in the Afrikaans weekly Rapport here, Hall said the tournament was “a gigantic success” and the players were very happy with the way it had turned out.

“This success has vindicated my decision - and that of all the other South African players - to come and play here (in Chandigarh ). Sometimes one has to take a chance, especially with something which is initially a gamble.”

Hall’s side lost to the Chennai Superstars Sunday in the finals of the inaugural Indian Cricket League (ICL) Twenty20 championship.

Hall and several other South African players have been considered rebels by Cricket South Africa , the national body for the sport here. Some are in litigation with the body after it decided to exclude them from even local squads.

“It’s incredible how the players from the different countries came together to make the ICL such a showpiece. Besides all the excitement on the field, the tournament also gave us as players an outcome - a guaranteed future and (job) security.

“Everyone knew exactly when they would be playing, how you would be used and that you are appreciated as a player, something every (player) wants in his career,” Hall added.

Hall said it did not matter that his side lost the game.

“I had the opportunity to teach a few young Indian players something which hopefully will make a difference in their careers. That is in the long run why every one of the so-called international players was here.

Resource: www.aboutindiancricketleague.com

'BCCI should recognise ICL as it had broadbased talent'

Former India captain Ajit Wadekar on Sunday asked BCCI to recognise the Indian Cricket League saying it had broadbased the talent in the country.

"ICL authorities are not getting into the Board's affairs but have helped broadbase the talent in the country. Both BCCI and ICL should co-exist in the interest of the game," said Wadekar, here to witness the final of the Essel Group's inaugural domestic one-day tournament final.

He said young players on the ICL rolls have benefited both career-wise and financially and have had the experience of playing alongside players like Brian Lara.

"It will make a lot of difference to these youngsters if they get to play for the country in matches recognised by BCCI," he said.

Meanwhile, former Chairman of the National Selection Committee Kiran More said "ICL's application for recognition is pending with the BCCI and they have not responded as of yet."

"This is the second ICL tournament held according to our schedule and the players have gained the right exposure from these tournaments," More said.

Source : http://www.hindu.com/

Honourable Shane Bond has my sympathy - Mike Atherton

How galling for New Zealand's coach, John Bracewell, as England's Twenty20 performances highlighted the gulf in talent between the two teams, that the best pace bowler on either side, Shane Bond, should be considering penning an English county contract instead of pinning English batsmen to the crease.

It is unlikely that Bond's presence alone would have bridged such a chasm of class during the first week of the tour, but New Zealand, with its tiny population and even smaller pool of good cricketers, can ill afford to lose such talent.

Having signed up for the Indian Cricket League, New Zealand decided that Bond could serve one master only, and, after months of protracted negotiations, they terminated his contract. Bond, now, will see out his days playing in a cricketing circus in northern India for part of the year, and domestically in New Zealand and England for the rest. Financially he will be better off; international cricket is the poorer. Quick bowlers are a rare commodity.

Bond himself has had no complaint publicly with New Zealand Cricket's decision, only with the subsequent public perception that somehow he has let down his country, that he has put money before honour. Last week he had this to say: "Some people are always going to think that you're a traitor and I can live with that.

"I find it strange, though, that in any other job people accept that you try to improve your circumstances and get in a better position for your family but it's almost like you're not supposed to do that in sport."

My sympathies lie with the player. Bond has, on a number of previous occasions, turned down lucrative offers to get in the best possible shape to play for New Zealand.

After an injury-plagued career, during which he has missed twice as many matches as he has played, he has probably come to the conclusion that his time as an international is limited and rather than return to the beat empty-handed (Bond was a policeman before) it was time to put the interests of his family first.

Moreover, he has acted honourably, upholding a contract he had signed in good faith. Compare his behaviour with that of the Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf. Yousuf turned his back on Pakistan and signed initially with the ICL; realised then that he had goofed because the Indian Premier League came along and offered more money; professed his love of his country as he tore up his ICL contract, before signing for the IPL. Only one of these players has been banned from playing for their country, but only one has acted with any honour.

My sympathies with Bond, though, extend beyond any empathy with his family's requirements. Ultimately, his dispute with New Zealand cricket is not so much about contractual obligations as the complete failure of New Zealand Cricket, and other countries, to stand up to the power and financial clout of Indian cricket.

When Bond signed with the ICL initially he went to New Zealand Cricket to ascertain whether he would be allowed to play in the ICL when international duties permitted. My understanding is that his employers were happy for him to do so, something they confirmed verbally and in writing. This was, of course, before the IPL emerged. Subsequently, the Indian board persuaded the governing bodies of world cricket to sanction the IPL as the 'official' Twenty20 competition as a way of putting the skids under the ICL.

Nobody is prepared to upset India for fear of losing out on valuable television revenues; the ICL, therefore, quickly accrued pariah status. It is not Bond who has back-tracked but his employers.

England have been just as craven as New Zealand. This week Geoff Miller, out here in his guise as England's new national selector, was asked whether his selection panel would consider those England cricketers - Darren Maddy, Vikram Solanki, Paul Nixon and Chris Read - who have signed for the ICL.

Miller was careful not to say that any official position had been taken - to do so would invite legal action - but reading between the lines it is clear that the 'ICL four' have rebel status. Implicit in Miller's remarks was a threat to any other English player considering his options.

Practically, a problem is unlikely to arise as Miller, James Whitaker and Ashley Giles sit down with Peter Moores and his captains to select England's summer teams. Those ICL players who have signed up have either had their time or are, at best, fringe alternatives. Following the successes of England's one-day team in the first week of this New Zealand tour, and the progress of Messrs Mustard and Wright, the chances of a recall receded even further.

Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Board’s double standards ruining Pakistan cricket, says Shoaib Akhtar

Pakistan’s controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has said that the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) double standards are ruining the sport in the country. Talking to reporters after attending a practice session at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) here on Friday, Akhtar, who has played 46 Tests and 138 one-day internationals, said he was unable to understand the board’s ‘inconsistent policies’. “I was made a scapegoat after Pakistan lost the Test and ODI series in India. I bowled my heart out with 17 overs during the Bangalore Test just to hear that I was unfit and now, suddenly, the PCB considers me fit enough to lead a team in the Pentangular Cup,” he added.

Akhtar, who has taken 178 Test and 219 ODI wickets, said he agreed with former captain Imran Khan that he (Akhtar) was made a scapegoat for the series loss in India and dropped from the team for the Zimbabwe series. Imran had remarked that Akhtar was dropped as a ‘scapegoat’ for the team’s series loss to India. Akhtar said that he had played international cricket even with 102 temperature because playing for Pakistan was the only preference for him. “I wanted to play the ODI series against Zimbabwe for getting match practice but was dropped from the team on the flimsy pretext that I was unfit.” The 32-year-old fast bowler, nicknamed the ‘Rawalpindi Express,’ was also criticised for his off-field activities on the tour of India, where Pakistan lost the one-day series 3-2 and Tests 1-0.

Akhtar said he was honoured to lead the Federal team. “I will prove my fitness with long and accurate spells during the Pentangular Cup.” He said he would also invite the PCB officials, who were always sitting in their luxurious offices, to see his fitness level. He said he does not need any central contract for representing Pakistan in cricket world and he would not sign any retainership. “Central contracts are not an issue because I play for my country and not for money. I will not accept retainership.” Without naming anyone, Akhtar said it was strange that a cricketer who had not played international cricket for the last three months was put in the category A. “It is all double standards,” he said.

According to critics, the PCB’s new central contracts might sow seeds of dissent among players in the national team. The board awarded enhanced and revised one-year central contracts to 15 players earlier this month excluding fast bowler Akhtar and some other senior players while upgrading junior players into top categories. The categorisation of the cricketers in the new contracts – for example senior leg spinner Danish Kaneria being bracketed with Fawad Alam who has played just three one-dayers in Category C – has raised eyebrows in cricketing circles in the country. It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan cricket has always been sensitive over seniority issues.

There are also reports in the media that Akhtar could dump the BCCI-backed Indian Premier League (IPL) to sign up for the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) as his relations with the PCB continue to deteriorate by the day. Sources close to Akhtar say that the speedster has only signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the IPL, which is backed by the PCB as well. And since he is unhappy with the treatment being meted out to him, he is now considering taking on the board by signing up for the ICL.

Akhtar also showed interest in signing on for an Indian film, raising doubts over his cricket future. Akhtar, however, denied he was leaving the sport to join Bollywood. “I want to play cricket and just showing a little interest in films doesn’t mean I am leaving the game. I want to play against Australia. I am making full preparations for the series against Australians as it is not an easy series,” he opined. Akhtar said doing well against Australia would be a motivation. “Australia are world number one team and the way Indians have done well against them, I am sure that we can also do well against them.” Pakistan hosts Australia in March-April this year. Regarding acting in movies, Akhtar said that he had five to six offers of acting in films but he would not sign any film. “I would do films after retirement from cricket,” he concluded.

Source : http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/