Zee Network delegation’s efforts to get the Lal Bahadur Stadium on lease for three years for its Indian Cricket League – a parallel body to the official BCCI – ended in deadlock as the State Government insisted that it be paid a minimum of Rs.1 crore per year for conducting the ICL tournament at the venue.
This was the outcome of the high level talks in the city on Friday, a day after the ICL successfully lured eight Hyderabad Ranji cricketers into its fold.
Initially, the Zee officials offered Rs 7.5 lakh for 60 days of which matches will be held only for 45 days.
A senior official of the State Government informed The Hindu that the Zee delegation was in no mood to accept the proposal of sharing the gate money and the ad revenue to be generated by the ICL matches at the floodlit venue.
“They also put forward a condition that the venue should not be given for any other activity during that 60-day phase,” he revealed. Initially, the Government was reluctant, but later relented when the Zee officials made it clear that they would give the stadium a facelift, including modernising dressing rooms and laying of two turf wickets.
The senior official is confident that the Zee will come back with an enhanced figure if not exactly what the Government put forward on Friday, as “they are aware of the significance of getting the venue”.
S.N. Mohanty, Principal Secretary to State Government (Y & AT), headed the Government delegation at the talks which had seen P.Chinnappa Reddy, Technical Advisor to State Government (Sports & Physical Education), also participate in earlier round.
Although Zee officials promised to come back, sources in the Zee said they may not be willing to pay such a huge amount and would instead prefer the Railway Grounds, especially because Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had recently spoken in favour of the ICL.
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Yousuf and Razzaq, who were dropped from the Pakistan squad for next month's Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, had not signed the central contracts offered to them by the Pakistan board, which had an August 15 deadline.
Farhat was candid in his view on the ICL offer and said, "Why should I hide anything? I am seriously having talks with the people concerned. If I sign, I will not hide anything. I will make it public."
"Every person has a right to earn good, clean money. We are no different. I am consulting my lawyers as I have already signed a central contract with the board," the Test opener said.
Kamal too said that he had to think about his future and family and since he was not a regular for Pakistan, he was giving the ICL offer a serious thought.
Both the players, however, admitted they were also keen to play for Pakistan and would like some compromise to be reached with the board which would allow them to play in the ICL and be considered for Pakistan selection.
Inzamam also confirmed that negotiations were on between some players and the ICL.
"The next few days a lot of things will be clear," said Inzamam who has not been given any new contract by the board.
The PCB yesterday reiterated its earlier stance that any player who goes to play in the ICL will not be considered for Pakistan selection again.
"We can't force anyone to sign the central contracts we have offered them. But we expect our players to behave responsibly and logically. So far we have no information about Yousuf or Razzaq having signed up for the ICL," PCB chief executive Shafqat Nagmi said earlier in the day.
However, a player who has been offered a contract, admitted that some of the players who had claimed being made offers by the ICL or rejecting them were not being entirely honest.
"Some of the amounts quoted by the players are incorrect while some even didn't get any formal offers from the ICL," he said.
Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, a former secretary of the board and a well-known cricket administrator in Pakistan, however, said the PCB set-up needed to adopt a more flexible and diplomatic stance on the ICL.
"How can one give such strong statements on an organisation about which they have no idea? I don't see anything wrong in some of our players going to play in the Indian league and earning some good money. Why should they be barred from playing for Pakistan again?" he questioned.
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Undeterred by the BCCI’s threat of imposing bans and withdrawing financial benefits, seven Hyderabad Ranji Trophy players on Thursday announced their intention to join the Indian Cricket League, giving a further boost to the rebel series.
President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association G Vinod described the development as “very embarrassing” and said it would no doubt weaken the Hyderabad Ranji team. “Seven of our players walking out will weaken the Hyderabad team but we will try and recruit fresh talent
The 21-year-old Ambatti Rayudu, who is seen to be a promising prospect, was among the seven players who have decided to align with the Subhash Chandra-owned Essel Group’s parallel venture.
After signing several retired players in the past few weeks, this is the first time that current Ranji Trophy players have been decided to sign for the proposed Twenty20 tournament to be held in October. Apart from Rayudu, Vinay Kumar, wicket-keeper Ibrahim Khalil, IS Reddy, Anirudh Singh, Kaushik Reddy and Shashank Nag were the other players to walk out of the team.
Vinod said the association will wait for the BCCI to take a decision on the fate of the players at its Annual General Meeting in Mumbai on August 21.
President of Hyderabad Cricket Association G Vinod described the development as “very embarrassing” and said it would no doubt weaken the Hyderabad Ranji team. “Seven of our players walking out will weaken the Hyderabad team but we will try and recruit fresh talent
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Star Pakistani batsman Younis Khan has rejected a lucrative offer made by the organisers of the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).
Younis said that he had rejected the offer because playing for the country was much more important to him than earning money.
The former Pakistan vice-captain, who turned down the opportunity to lead his country after the World Cup, said he also didn’t want to play in the league as it would clash with Pakistan’s domestic season. “And I don’t want to miss the domestic matches,” he said.
Younis is among several Pakistani players approached by the ICL organisers. While Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Shahid Afridi have turned down the chance to play in the Twenty20 tournament, others like Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Asim Kamal are still mulling over the offers made to them. Younis, however, said he would not sign the central contract offered to him by the Pakistan Cricket Board by the given deadline of August 15. “Right now I am busy with county cricket and I plan to return home on August 22 after which I will consult my lawyers and only then take a decision on signing the documents,” he said.
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Subhash Chandra's dream of launching a rebel cricket league, thwarted thus far every step of the way by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has taken some crucial steps closer to becoming reality. Politicians from three different parties have now thrown their support behind the initiative.
The first and biggest political boost to the India Cricket League's proposed Twenty20 competition came after Union railway minister and Bihar Cricket Association chief Laloo Prasad Yadav voiced his support and also offered to make 30 stadia belonging to the Indian Railways available for matches.
Yadav's backing has completely changed the equation for the ICL, which till now had only one big name player to boast of in West Indian great Brian Lara and no stadia. This was because the Indian board had threatened life bans on any player associating with the ICL and also banned the rebel league from using any Indian grounds to conduct matches.
The support of Yadav, who is also the chief the RJD - a key party in the ruling UPA coalition alliance - and a possible successor to BCCI president Sharad Pawar, could well force the board to soften its stance against players signing up for the league.
"This is a good thing. There will be good competition. Many talented players will get encouragement. Those people who think they have not been recognised, or those who complain about not being selected will get a chance," said Yadav. "If there is competition between Subhash Chandra and Pawar, it's a good thing. We will get quality players," he added.
Yadav's comments were followed soon after by Congress party general secretary Digvijay Singh shooting off a letter to the BCCI asking the board to give up its confrontationist attitude.
In response, Pawar defended the board's stand saying the ICL tournament was an "out and out commercial venture" while "the board's earnings were spent on financing cricketing activities of various state associations and in augmenting infrastructural facilities."
The opposition BJP has also weighed into the matter, stating that the venture which would "help in breaking the BCCI's monopoly".
"The monopoly of BCCI is not in the interest of Indian cricket. With the coming of ICL, the bureaucratic attitude as well as the monopoly of the BCCI will break," BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told newswire PTI.
"They (BCCI) always pose like a government body whose decisions are constitutionally binding. Nowhere in the world any association monopolises a game," PTI quotes Naqvi as saying.
Source-http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k7/aug/aug151.php
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The website will help hundreds of aspiring cricketers to apply directly to the ICL.
ICL business head Himanshu Mody said, "We have been getting thousands of mails, letters and queries from aspiring cricketers who don't know how to apply for the ICL. With the website, a single point of information and application of interest will exist for all."
The Indian Cricket League has signed on several Indian and International cricketing greats like Brian Lara, Kiran More, Tony Greig, Dean Jones and Kapil Dev who will head the executive board.
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In what could be good news for Zee Group-promoted Indian Cricket League (ICL), the Union Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, said on Thursday that it would allow ICL to use Railways’ stadiums.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not yet stated its position on whether ICL can access the stadiums. However, in a move that indicates BCCI’s reluctance to share resources, it recently stated that any person associating himself with “any other organisation” would not be entitled to derive any benefits from BCCI or “be connected with any of its activities”.
Meanwhile, Mr Prasad described the ICL as a “good initiative” and said competition was good for the game. “It is a good initiative. It will give rise to competition and good players will be encouraged. The parallel league is a good thing for those who complain that they were not selected or were ignored. This competition will be good for spotting good players,” he said here . “We will definitely allow them to play on our stadiums. The usual charges would be levied for the access,” he added. The Railways has stadium facilities across the country, including Delhi and Lucknow.
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Pakistan team manager Talat Ali has laughed off attempts by the Indian Cricket League to rope in Pakistani cricketers, saying ICL was nothing more than 'Micky Mouse' cricket and lacked potential to tempt quality players.
"I use this word because even if it is held it is not official or serious cricket. It is a rebel series not involving countries and it would be more befitting if it was held in Disneyland instead of in a Test playing nation," Ali said.
ICL's efforts to rope in Pakistani players would not see the light of day, he claimed.
"I don't see this league tempting our players no matter what stage of their career they are in," he said.
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The Indian Cricket League on Saturday hit back at the BCCI for threatening to impose a life ban on players aligning with it, saying the BCCI was a private organisation and had no right to issue such directions.
A day after BCCI made it clear that players taking part in the breakaway league would be banned for life from playing for India, the ICL bosses reacted strongly to the “unfair” stand taken by the game’s governing body and said it would not dissuade them from going ahead.
“BCCI is nobody to give such a direction. It is a private body. The ICL will be a reality and the people will come to watch the matches,” Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra told PTI.
Kapil Dev, chairman of the ICL’s Executive Board, launched a scathing attack on the BCCI and took a dig at president Sharad Pawar by questioning his commitment to cricket.
“He (Pawar) is a very senior politician. He is spending time looking after an important Ministry and country but does he have the time for cricket? I can also say about him what he said about me,” Kapil said. “I am disappointed. They are trying to scare players when people of the country want to play cricket. It is not fair for the BCCI secretary (Niranjan Shah) to say like that,”
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With the Indian Cricket League stepping up its efforts to rope in star players, the BCCI on Friday made it clear that any cricketer who aligns with the rebel body will be banned for life from playing for India.
The Board also said that players signing up for the break-away league will also be barred from taking part in all domestic tournaments.
"Our stand is very clear. Players who take part in the ICL will never be eligible to play for the country again. It is up to the players to decide what they want to do", BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI in Mumbai.
Asked whether the ban would also be applicable for young players who have not played for the country yet, Shah said "definitely. It is applicable for all players."
Shah said the Board will take a decision on Kapil Dev's fate as the Chairman of National Cricket Academy at its General Body Meeting here on August 21.
"The Board's General Body Meeting has been called where this issue will be discussed among a host of other issues," he said.
Taking a potshot at the ICL, Shah said the BCCI was not worried by the development as the league would attract veteran players only.
ICL, a brainchild of Subhash Chandra-owned Essel Group, have already signed up former West Indian captain Brian Lara for the series and are said to have approached many other former and current stars from different countries.
A host of former Indian players including Kapil Dev, Kiran More, Sandeep Patil, Madan Lal and Balwinder Singh Sandhu have joined the rebel league in various capacities.
The ICL plans to hold its inaugural Twenty20 league over a period of 45 days starting in October.
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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will not allow current or former players still involved with the board to play in the unofficial Indian Cricket League, PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf said on Thursday.
"The ICL is not recognised by the International Cricket Council or its member boards so there is no question of our players going to play there," Ashraf said.
Sources close to some of the players said Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik had received offers days after former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq confirmed he had been approached by the organisers.
The ICL has signed former West Indies captain Brian Lara for the Twenty20 series to be played over 45 days starting in October.
Ashraf said any player who decided to play in the league would not be selected again for Pakistan.
"We have clauses in our central contracts clearly outlining the board decides where the players can play," he said.
"Even where former players are concerned if they are not holding any position with the board we can't stop them. But those who are working for us will not be given permission to play in the Indian league."
The BCCI has also refused to endorse the league.
Fleming may quit international cricket to join ICL
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming may abruptly end his international career to join the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), according to a media report here.
Fleming has been approached by the ICL officials and the lucrative offer might prompt the Kiwi skipper to quit international cricket and join the league, according to 'The Australia' newspaper.
The report quoted unnamed sources as saying that Fleming had been offered a deal worth USD 440,000 a year to skipper any one of the six teams in the proposed league.
"Why is that awkward if you are planning retirement?" asked a source close to the ICL negotiations.
Fleming retired from one day cricket after leading the side to the semifinals of the World Cup in the West Indies and is expected to lead New Zealand in the tour of South Africa which, incidentally, coincides with the first ICL Twenty20 league.
Though ICL staged a major coup of sort by roping in West Indies batting great Brian Lara while the likes of Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath are also ready to jump on the bandwagon, getting a contemporary player of Fleming's stature would be a huge morale booster for the organisers.
Meanwhile, former Australian batsman Dean Jones, part of the ICL Executive Board, said that though Damien Martyn and Justin Langer had rejected similar offer, he was in touch with some other Australian players, who are all set to join the league.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) better watch out. Subhash Chandra promoted Essel Group's Indian Cricket League (ICL), a parallel cricket format, continues to expand its list of star cricketers.
After roping in Kapil Dev and Tony Greig on the executive board, it has now signed in former West Indian cricketer Brian Lara as captain of one of ICL's six city teams.
ICL project head Himanshu Mody said, "We are extremely honored to welcome Brian to the ICL family. I think the youngsters we are grooming for India’s future will benefit immensely from playing alongside him in the ICL."
