ICL 50:50 schedule

27 Jan, Chandigarh Lions vs Chennai Superstars

28 Jan, Chennai Superstars vs Hyderabad Heroes

29 Jan, Delhi Jets vs Mumbai Champs

30 Jan, Kolkata Tigers vs Hyderabad Heroes

31 Jan, Chandigarh Lions vs Mumbai Champs

01 Feb, Delhi Jets vs Kolkata Tigers

02 Feb, Chennai Superstars vs Delhi Jets

03 Feb, Kolkata Tigers vs Mumbai Champs

Chandigarh Lions vs Hyderabad Heroes

04 Feb, Chennai Superstars vs Mumbai Champs

05 Feb, Chandigarh Lions vs Delhi Jets

06 Feb, Chennai Superstars vs Kolkata Tigers
Mumbai Champs vs Hyderabad Heroes

08 Feb, Chandigarh Lions vs Kolkata Tigers
Delhi Jets vs Hyderabad Heroes

10 Feb, Final

All Match begins at 0900 IST

Don't risk your career by joining ICL: Modi tells Kiwis

BCCI vice president Lalit Modi has advised New Zealand players not to jeopardise their careers by joining the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is in a crisis with a number of Kiwi players already aligning with ICL and the fresh jolt came with their spearhead Shane Bond too deciding to take the plunge.

Modi urged the Kiwi cricketers not to succumb to the lure of the rebel league which, he felt, was not sustainable.

"To have a credible tournament one must not just look at the money but, more importantly, whether the competition is sanctioned, whether it's going to have the (necessary) infrastructure, whether it's going to be around for a while, and whether it's investing in the growth of the game - or just profiting from it," Modi was quoted as saying by a local daily.

"Do they have enough safeguards to protect against match-fixing? Do they have the right officials - such as match referees and umpires - and do they have the appropriate rules involving anti-doping policies and playing guidelines?" asked Modi, also the chairman of the BCCI-backed Indian Premier League (IPL).

New Zealand have already lost six players -- Daryl Tuffey, Hamish Marshall, Craig McMillan, Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns and Chris Harris -- to the rebel league, even though some of them have already quit international cricket.

NZC has already instructed the selectors to overlook these players.

Modi confirmed the Test playing nations had agreed to a gentleman's agreement to ban the rebel cricketers.

"We have all decided that in the interests of development ... we will try as far as legally possible to discourage our players from joining any rebel league that is organised just for self-profit," he said.

"The BCCI and the other Test-playing nations are non-profit organisations. They invest 100 per cent of their earnings back into the game. This is essential to ensure we build the best infrastructure for the players and fans alike," the BCCI official said.

He also sought to dispel fears that the IPL might affect international commitments of a number of players.

"The IPL will be played in a window which does not clash with the FTP," he said.

Punjab couldn’t survive the ICL hurricane

The writing was on the wall for Punjab even before a ball had been bowled this Ranji season. They had lost their skipper Dinesh Mongia, and 11 more players to the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), and with all the BCCI-proposed bans in place, Punjab knew their first and realistic target was to try and stay afloat in the Elite division this year.

As the season began unfolding itself, there were a few moments of joy. Moments where the Punjab Cricket Association could see promise for future but most of the time, the state team was fighting against all odds. They failed to qualify for the semifinal, which was natural anyway, that they survived relegation was in itself a big relief for the state cricket mandarins.

It began almost unexpectedly. Punjab gave the maximum number of players to the ICL, and considering how professional the state cricket was being run, the resentment of the players shocked each and one. Other than Mongia, those leaving the state team were seasoned players like Reetinder Sodhi, Munish Sharma, Rajesh Sharma, Amit Uniyal, Bipul Sharma, Ishan Malhotra and others. The void was big and almost too difficult to fill but in Pankaj Dharmani, the veteran of many a battle, lay the responsibility to show the youngsters the way.

Some of the youngsters who were drafted into the state team were thrown in at the deep end without much experience. Some came from the Under-19s, some from the Inter-Districts. Uday Kaul, Ravi Inder Rajji, Manpreet Gony and Karan Goel fought hard and well but with the bowling too weak and inexperienced Punjab struggled to bowl out rival teams. Their inability to pick up wickets meant Punjab couldn't force outright wins or gather important points, even when playing in matches at home. It was too late for the side when VRV Singh became fit and came back with brilliant bowling against Orrisa, and the state selectors have a job at hand to identify bowlers who could bail out the state in the coming years.

In fact, the performance of Punjab had been dipping since they last played in the Ranji Trophy final in 2004. They haven't even been making it to the semifinals for the past two years. Caretaker coach Daljit Singh had laid out his plans for the season quite early with camps starting in summers and when former India player and skipper of the Punjab team that won their only Ranji title in 1992-93 Gursharan Singh joined in as the new coach, it looked the team would try and regain the lost glory.

Source : http://www.expressindia.com/

ICL planning to add all-star Pak team

The rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) is planning to add an all-star Pakistani side to its list of competitors for the second edition scheduled in March-April.

After hosting its inaugural twenty20 tournament last year, the breakaway league is considering adding two more teams with one of them being an all stars side from Pakistan.

"There has been discussion on having either a Karachi or Lahore team from Pakistan take part in the next event along with an all stars ICL eleven," Former Pakistan skipper Moin Khan, who is ICL's main representative in Pakistan and also on their coaching panel, said.

The former wicketkeeper said a clearer picture would emerge in next two weeks and did not rule out the possibility of an ICL official coming to Pakistan to sign up more players.

Pakistan had six representatives in the ICL's inaugural edition with pacer Shabbir Ahmed getting man of the match award in the final.

Moin said he was disappointed by the vindictive measures taken by Pakistan and other cricket boards against players and coaches contracted to the ICL, which is not recognised by either the ICC or its member boards.

He said the decision to ban ICL players in Pakistan from playing domestic cricket was unjustified.

But asked whether the ICL would help its players and coaches, Moin said the the league was already backing its recruits financially.

"That is the best it can do. It has given financial benefits to its players and coaches which is their best compensation for what they are facing. The kind of money we are earning now from ICL is very good," he said.

Source : http://cricket.expressindia.com/

Cricket South Africa object to ICL involvement

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has withdrawn Daryll Cullinan’s accreditation as a television commentator for SuperSport for the ongoing series between South Africa and West Indies because of his involvement in the Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Cullinan, a former South African middle-order batsman, was coach of the Kolkata Tigers in the ICL, a league not recognised by cricket boards across the world. The board had complained to SuperSport about Cullinan’s involvement as a commentator about a week ago, after the first Test at Port Elizabeth where Cullinan was part of the panel.

The board had already made its intentions clear by earlier banning all six South African players who participated in the tournament and board chairman Norman Arendse said similar action would be taken against even those involved in a coaching capacity.

“We accredit media representatives to report on official cricket,” Arendse told the Times. “As a member of the International Cricket Council we felt it was entirely hypocritical to have a commentator who was effectively participating in rebel cricket.”

Tex Texeira, the head of production with SuperSport, said a meeting would be arranged with the board to try and settle the issue. Texeira said that Cullinan had informed them of his decision to join the league - which ran from November 30 to December 16 - and Cullinan was made aware that there could be repercussions.

“We would like to be able to resolve the issue because Daryll is a top-class commentator,” he said. “Daryll approached us and told us that he planned to go to India. We felt it wasn’t the right thing to do. We have a strong relationship with CSA and the International Cricket Council, who are both opposed to the ICL.

“We therefore drew up a document stating that we were happy to let Daryll go to India but that should there be repercussions we had the right to terminate his contract with SuperSport.”

Cullinan admitted that he would be up against the board though he was willing to wait and watch further developments. “I was aware that my going to India was a concern to SuperSport,” Cullinan said. “I will wait and see what happens at the meeting between the two parties.”

Source : http://www.cricket247.in/

Bond Joins Indian Cricket League

New Zealand’s ace speedster Shane Bond will be joining the Indian Cricket League. ICL’s official Ashish Kaul confirmed today that the Kiwi pacer is all set to sign a three-year contract worth $800,000 with the Rebel League. Bond’s switch to the ICL will be a major boost for the League which had a successful inaugural T20 tournament last year. He will become the seventh and the most high profile New Zealand player to join ICL after he signs the contract.

Bond is regarded as the best New Zealand pace bowler after Sir Richard Hadlee and his departure has left a big hole in the Kiwi pace attack to be filled. Bond who is recovering from an abdominal injury has kept his mum on the issue. Although, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan has admitted that Bond has made a move to ICL.

The right-arm pacer has 79 wickets in 17 tests to his name at an average of 22.39. Bond’s move to ICL will be a good opportunity for the young players in the League as they will be able to gain some experience from the fiery speedster.

Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Chris Harris and Craig McMillan, Hamish Marshall and Daryl Tuffey are the Kiwi players who have already taken part in the recent ICL Twenty20 league. The other big names in ICL are Brian Lara of West Indies and Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq.

The cash-rich ICL has announced a series of events in 2008 in which we can see Shane Bond playing. It will be interesting to see which team the 32-year-old represents in ICL and whether he can deliver a similar impact like his New Zealand team-mates did in the inaugural tournament.

Source : http://www.indiancricketleague.in/

Indian rebel league to gut Test teams

AUSTRALIA may end up playing a New Zealand second XI in November's Test series, with star fast bowler Shane Bond in line to become the latest Kiwi to abandon the national side and join India's rebel Twenty20 league.

New Zealand and other countries with modestly paid players are in danger of being gutted by the breakaway International Cricket League, further damaging the standard of international cricket.

As the well-paid Australians continue their complete domination by attempting to equal their own amazing record of 16 successive Test victories, in the second Test against India beginning at the SCG tomorrow, the soft underbelly of the game is being exposed by India's big-money brawling over Twenty20 and television rights.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has set up the rival Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition, to begin in April, and is paying big money for international stars, including Australians, to be part of it, but players overlooked by the official IPL are joining the ICL.

It is not only international cricket that is under threat, but domestic first-class cricket, with falling standards not adequately preparing players for Test cricket.

The cricketing countries at greatest risk of being damaged are those that can least afford it and New Zealand is at the top of the list. Some players can earn more in a month playing with the ICL than for a full year playing for their country.

New Zealand Cricket is under enormous pressure from the BCCI to ban the six Kiwi players who took part in the inaugural ICL championship in India last month and is in a bind about what to do with Bond, who has signed to be part of an expanded ICL competition this year.

If NZC bans Bond, the best Kiwi paceman since Richard Hadlee, he can sue for restraint of trade. If he is allowed to play in the ICL, the billion-dollar wrath of the BCCI will reign down on the Kiwis, further damaging cricket in a country where it has been a marginal sport.

Bond may be only one of many ICL players from around the globe who may be able to take court action if they are banned by their home boards in what shapes as a messy and expensive fight that can only harm the game.

International players association chief executive Tim May made it clear FICA would protect the rights of players to earn a professional living, regardless of which competition they join.

"With New Zealand and these other poorly paid countries, it's incredibly enticing at the end of their career, or even in the middle of their career, to look after themselves," May said. "It's their job and they're trying to do the best for their families.

"You may well see more ICL contracted players signed up. So what are we going to do, have a New Zealand second XI out there? Is it in New Zealand's national interest to put out a half-baked team?

"Is it in world cricket's interest? These are the questions people really need to sit down and think about.

"And there is also the rights of the players to ply their trade.

"We want to encourage people to play cricket professionally, don't we? It's not necessarily a bad thing, this ICL.

"We will protect the players' rights to ply their trade, and the more people who can play international and domestic cricket and earn a living, isn't that in the interests of the game with competition from more and more sports out there professionally?"

New Zealand's dreadful lack of depth was exposed in last month's lopsided Chappell-Hadlee series, with one-day dasher Craig McMillan among those who retired to join the ICL.

Hamish Marshall and Daryl Tuffey might never again represent New Zealand after appearing in the ICL. NZC has told selectors to consider others ahead of the pair, while the other four players, Chris Cairns, McMillan, Nathan Astle and Chris Harris, have retired.

Pakistan has effectively banned three players including former captain Inzamam-Ul-Haq, but none of the Test countries will put in writing that players joining the ICL will be banned, for fear of being sued for restraint of trade.

"Of concern to us and what should be of concern to all players is that boards have not communicated formally their position despite requests from player associations in some of those countries," May said.

"It's important for players thinking of entering this competition that they understand the risks involved in playing in this so-called rebel league. If boards do not want to put their positions in writing, then the boards should not expect to restrict players from coming back and playing in their country's competitions."

Source : http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/