MUMBAI, 9 November 2007 — The battle lines that were drawn with such intensity between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and a rebel group set on launching parallel cricket promotions, seem to be fading out. Today, you cannot even call it a battle.
The Essel Group-backed Indian Cricket League (ICL), headed by former captain and the world’s leading all-rounder, Kapil Dev, had made all the noise along with tall claims of high quality cricket promotions, is today struggling to raise a voice that can be heard. This has forced them to start their own website to give out all the information they have, which, any way, is very little.
Having set out to launch a world-class Twenty20 tournament the ICL does not have even a single -player of international repute.
Almost all of them who had signed for them have deserted them. The quickest to do so was Pakistan’ Mohammed Yousuf, who turned out for Pakistan against the South Africans at home and is the side’s leading batsman currently on Indian tour.
Now the ICL has only just-retired players, like Brian Lara and Inzaman ul-Haq, whose credentials to draw crowds are questionable. It was for this reason, coupled with their inability to acquire proper cricket venues, that had forced them to twice postpone the start of their tournament. Their promise of having their opener on the same day that India and Pakistan were to play their first match on the tour of India was also not kept.
There is no denying the fact that a lot of money has already gone into this project with hardly any returns so far. A month-long training camp for young players is all that they have to show for their efforts. The BCCI has itself launched an ambitious Twenty20 tournament. And the support of all the ICC members, has taken the wind out of the sails of ICL. Four to five leading players from each top Test-playing countries have already signed for the BCCI Tournament named International Premier League.
So, where does Kapil Dev’s Indian Cricket League stand ? With many players having left them and new ones reluctant to sign, they woefully lack marquee names. Then, they are forced to re renovate or refurbish some old cricket grounds to hold their matches. Their ability to take recourse to a legal battle against the BCCI to have a right of holding rival cricket promotions, has also weakened for lack of proper cause to challenge the authority of India’s apex cricket body.
If a man called Kerry Packer succeeded about three decades ago, it was because ha was able to sign more than 30 of the world’s leading players. Packer was able to have his say because Test cricket then lost all its glamour with several countries being deprived of the services of their leading players. Nothing of the kind can ever be visualized now.
