NEW DELHI, 9 August 2007 — India’s cricket board warned yesterday that any players aligning with the unofficial Twenty20 league will be barred for life from top-grade matches.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) issued a statement warning players — current and retired — that they would lose monetary benefits and the right to play in official tournaments if they aligned with a television network sponsored Indian Cricket League.
“Every individual has a right whether he wants to be associated with the BCCI or any other organization,” the cricket board said in a statement. The board statement said players associating with an unofficial event or organization “will not derive any benefit or be connected with any of the BCCI’s activities in any way.” “This is not an ultimatum to anyone, every individual is free to make his decisions,” BCCI treasurer N. Srinivasan.
BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said last week that such players involved with ICL would never play for India again.
Board’s officials yesterday did not take a decision on 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev, chairman of the National Cricket Academy, who has signed up as the operation chief of the ICL.
Dev has refused to resign his honorary position at the academy, insisting he was doing nothing wrong by promoting cricket. Dev dared the board to sack him from the post.
Sandip Patil, Madan Lal and Balwinder Sandhu, all members of the 1983 World Cup champion team, have joined Dev in signing up with the league. They have coaching assignments for ICL teams that will feature foreign stars and Indian youngsters.
Following the BCCI directive, former Test wicketkeeper Kiran More — who recently served as the chief national selector — quit his elected position as secretary of the Baroda Cricket Association. Former West Indies skipper Brian Lara is the first big name to have confirmed his participation in the ICL.
Pakistan Fine Paceman
Akhtar Over Discipline
In Karachi, the Pakistan Cricket Board has fined mercurial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for walking out of a training camp ahead of next month’s Twenty20 World Cup, officials said yesterday.
The PCB fined the pacer 300,000 rupees ($5,000) after he snubbed a subsequent disciplinary inquiry.
“Akhtar has been fined for leaving the training camp in Karachi last week without telling the management and then he did not come to attend the hearing,” PCB director of communications Ahsan Malik told AFP.
The 32-year-old left the training camp in Karachi citing a neck injury.
“Akhtar has been fined 100,000 rupees for leaving the camp without information and on the second count he is fined 200,000 rupees,” said Malik. The player will also be docked one-and-a-half points from the 20-point disciplinary total reserved for every player, said Malik. Despite the neck injury, Akhtar was named in Pakistan’s 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Cup announced on Tuesday.
Pakistan Revise South Africa
Tour Itinerary
The Pakistan Cricket Board has dropped Peshawar and Rawalpindi from the itinerary for the tour by South Africa which starts next month. The visitors will now play the One-Day Internationals originally scheduled at Peshawar and Rawalpindi in Karachi and Lahore.
Director of cricket operations Zakir Khan said the changes were made for logistical reasons, not security concerns.
“The stadium in Peshawar was not up to international standards while there is renovation work due to start at Rawalpindi,” said Zakir.
But board sources said South Africa had raised concerns over playing in Peshawar and Rawalpindi, cities which have seen several explosions and suicide bomb attacks on security forces in recent weeks.
In 2003, South Africa refused to play in Karachi and Peshawar for security reasons.
Revised Test/ODI Itinerary:
Oct. 1-5: 1st Test in Karachi; Oct. 8-12: 2nd Test in Lahore; Oct. 18: 1st ODI in Lahore; Oct. 20: 2nd ODI in Lahore; Oct. 23: 3rd ODI in Faisalabad; Oct. 26: 4th ODI in Multan; Oct 29: 5th ODI in Karachi.
