International Cricket Council has recognised IPL (The Indian Premiere League) in the recently held ICC meeting. Thereby ICC has approved all IPL activities including the Twenty Twenty Cricket Series going to be held from April, 23rd onwards for over one month among eight leagues.
But ICC did not recognise ICL (Indian Cricket league) headed by the cricket legend Kapil Dev Nihanj. The non-recognition of ICL by the ICC has raised many an eyebrows and an avalanch of questions that remains to be answered by the ICC and well wishers of International cricket community.
Former cricket players like Tony Greig and others who are part of ICL have raised hues and cries over the non-recognition of ICL and it seems that there is no way of escaping from the series of court proceedings over the non-recognition of ICL. The relevant view points that are raised by experts from ICL including Tony Greig :
When the World Series Cricket was organised by Kerry Packer it was termed as illegal and Cricket Boards of respective countries even banned players of WSC for life from playing in the National Team.
But in the ensuing legal battles between the organisers of WSC and ICC, many questions asked by the judge could not be properly answered by the ICC.
Some of the questions or issues that has to be anwered in the present day context :
i) How can a cricket board of a country or a body like ICC curtail the legitimate rights of a cricket player to play or earn when still some cricket left in him ?
ii) After all a cricketor’s career is only for a short span of an average of say seven to eight years in the wake of the stiff competition both in the domestic and international circuits.
iii) ICL has provided opportunities to cricketors who have mostly retired from International cricket e.g Lara, Inzamam, Chris Cairs, Chris Harris, Atapattu and so on. Will IPL even consider them ? Then who will provide them opportunities ?
iv) Can you blame Lara one of the all times great for having still left with some cricket passion and desire in him?
v) On what ground or authority BCCI banned players of ICL to get selected or even considered to play in a domestic or International circuit ?
vi) What prompted the BCCI to stop the pension of players who joined ICL or who became part of ICL ? After all their series is only seasonal and shortlived only for a stipulated period after which their contract may not be renewed ? Then who will look after them ?
vii) In BCCI there are offcials who are part-timers employed full time elsewhere. Even the President of BCCI, a Union Minister, is a part-timer in BCCI.Similarly many Indian players have been employed elsewhere and still they form part of the Indian squad. How BCCI allow such players and so lenient towards them, when it is very particular of stopping the pension of players who joined ICL?
viii) After all both ICL and IPL are operating and organising matches only to promote the cause of cricket as a game. Then why should BCCI be so harsh towards ICL ?