50 cricketers join ICL

The Indian Cricket League (ICL) announced the names of 50 cricketers, 44 Indians and six international players, as the first batch of players contracted for three years.

Kapil Dev, executive chairman of the ICL Board and Himanshu Mody, project head, informed mediapersons on Monday that these players will compete in a Twenty20 tournament to start with, featuring six city-based teams, expanded to 50 overs matches and three-day games at a future stage.

The identity of six cities, the composition of respective teams and venues will be announced later, said the organisers.

The foreign signings include Nicky Boje, Lance Kluesener (South Africa), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammed Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat (Pakistan).

South African Boje had refused to tour India in the past with the national squad to avoid police interrogation in connection with the match-fixing investigations by the Delhi Police. Asked to confirm Boje’s availability for the ICL event in view of his past refusal, Mr. Mody said: “I do not know about the matter. All I can say is that we have a signed contract with him and he should be coming to India.”

The Indian players who have signed up with the ICL comprise a mix of internationals like Dinesh Mongia (Punjab), J.P. Yadav (Uttar Pradesh), Deep Dasgupta (Bengal), Laxmi Ratan Shukla (Bengal), Reetinder Sodhi (Punjab), T. Kumaran (Tamil Nadu), talented players Dheeraj Jadhav (Maharashtra), Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (Bengal), Ambati Rayudu, Alfred Absalom (Hyderabad), V. Devendran (Tamil Nadu), Syed Abbas Ali (Madhya Pradesh) and Shalabh Srivastava (UP).


Praising the players, Kapil Dev said they have demonstrated courage and commitment by signing up for the ICL against the background of BCCI’s threat of stern action.

“This is the cream of talent in India. These players take pride in playing for the country, take pride in backing themselves. They have shown courage, all I want from them is commitment.”

Asked for details about players’ terms of contract, Mr. Mody informed that contracts would be for a duration of three years, but did not reveal the money matters.

The Indian players on the ICL list, recruited by organisations on the sports quota, may not be eligible to play in BCCI-sanctioned events for employers.

When asked about the players’ future beyond the contract period, Kapil shot back: “Can you tell me what will happen to your job after two years. As long as these players keep on playing well, they will do well. These are professional people who have to make their own lives.”

Responding to a query about the reasons for accepting the ICL offer, despite the risks involved, Deep Dasgupta, Bengal Ranji captain and ex-Test wicketkeeper, said: “As professional players, you have to grab every opportunity. I will get a chance to play with talented youngsters, along with international cricketers.”

Punjab all-rounder Dinesh Mongia, expressing readiness to play for India in future if selected, replied: “I will keep playing as long as I enjoy the game.”

Spin legend Erapalli Prasanna, one of executive board members, said, “spin bowling in India is facing a gradual decline. This is a chance to pass on my skills to youngsters, so that more spin bowlers emerge. I was associated with the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. I stay in Bangalore but my services and expertise was not utilised fully. I can do that now.”

Kiran More was the other member present, apart from coaches Sandeep Patil, Madan Lal, academies director Balwinder Sandhu, talent scout Bharat Reddy, Pranab Roy and Rajesh Chauhan.

West Indies batting legend Brian Lara is one of the famous signings, announced earlier by the ICL.

Players contracted (India):

Ambati Rayudu, Syed Abbas Ali, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Abhishek T, Alfred Absalom, Ali Murtaza, Avinash Yadav, Deep Dasgupta, V. Devendran, Dheeraj Jadhav, Dinesh Mongia, Hemant Kumar, Indershekar Reddy, Ishan Malhotra, J. Hariesh, J.P. Yada v, Kaushik Reddy, L.R. Shukla, Manish Sharma.

Ibrahim Khaleel, Mohnish Mishra, Puskaraj Mohan Joshi, R. Satish, Rajesh Sharma, Ranjit Khirid, Raviraj Patil, Reetinder Sodhi, Robin Morris, Sachin Dholpure, Sarabjit Singh, S. Akhlakh Ahmed, Salabh Srivastava, Shashank Nag, Shiv Sagar Si ngh, Shreyas Khanolkar.

Subhojit Paul, Subhomoy Das, Sumit Kalia, D. Tamilkumaran, T. Surendra, T. Kumaran, G. Vignesh, D. Vinay Kumar, Yashpal Singh .



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