ICL bowls legal beamer at BCCI

The tussle between Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Indian Cricket League (ICL) reached the courts on Friday. The Subhash Chandra-promoted breakaway cricket body has moved the Delhi High Court seeking to restrain the board from allegedly “intimidating” its players. ICL has also sought permission to use cricket stadiums across the country for its tournaments.

ICL’s lawsuit has urged the court to prevent BCCI from stopping pensions to players who have joined its fold. It also said BCCI should be restrained from using the Indian flag and the country’s name as it has accepted before the Supreme Court that it is a private body.

The newly-formed rebel body has pleaded that no player or state affiliate should be intimidated by BCCI for changing alliance. The court is expected to hear the matter on Monday. Reacting to the development, BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi told ET: “Big deal! So many people file suits against us, this is yet another one. We are yet to receive the plaint yet. Once we have a look at it, we will decide our course of action.”

ICL’s lawsuit comes in the wake of BCCI sacking Kapil Dev as chairman of the National Cricket Academy and barring players who have defected from playing domestic and international cricket representing India. The board also announced its move to hike the match fees for first-class players and increased the prize money for domestic tournaments to Rs 4.2 crore.

Formed this April by Zee Group promoter Subash Chandra in collaboration with IL&FS, ICL recently announced its first pool of 51 cricketers. This included Kapil Dev as executive board chairman and foreign cricketers like Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq. ICL is expected to start matches in the Twenty20 format by October.

BCCI, in turn, is planning to float a rival league of its own, complete with international players, high-profile sponsorships and high-voltage excitement. Tipped to be called the Professional Cricket League (PCL), it will follow the same format as the Premier Hockey League and will be headed by Sunil Gavaskar.

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