This ICL versus IPL business, which should by now have surely been laid to rest, rumbles on. Should the Northamptonshire Steelbacks beat Sussex in their Twenty20 Cup semi-final on Saturday, they would normally have been expected to fill one of England’s spots in the Twenty20 Champions League (or the Champions League T20, or the Champions Twenty20 League, or whatever), but the inclusion in their squad of Nicky Boje, Andrew Hall and Johan van der Wath means that Lalit Modi won’t let them play.

Boje, Hall and van der Wath are all ‘tainted’ by their association with the ICL, which is viewed by the BCCI as ‘unauthorised cricket’. “Champions League rules are very clear that no team with players connected to any unauthorised cricket can be a part of it,” said Modi, possibly whilst stroking a cat and plotting world domination.

‘Unauthorised cricket’ makes it sound a bit like the trio had been skipping school to hone their forward defensives, or carelessly practising their in-swingers in an area containing a ‘No Ball Games‘ sign.

Pakistan are banking on a fresh set of players to deliver as they seek to avenge Sri Lanka’s Test victory in a one day series starting on Thursday.

Pakistan were beaten in a Test series for the first time on Sri Lankan soil when Younus Khan’s men lost the first two matches before drawing the final game in Colombo last week.

But Younus is confident a change in personnel and infusion of new blood for the five one day matches will revive the tourists and provide entertaining cricket for fans.

“There are many players in the team who did not play the Test series, and they are keen to prove that Pakistan are one of the best one day teams in the world,” he said.

“The Tests are behind us, we look forward to doing well in the one dayers,” said Younus, who led Pakistan to victory over Sri Lanka in the World Twenty20 final at Lord’s, England in June.

All rounder Shahid Afridi, who was man of the match in both the semi final and final of the World Twenty20, returns to bolster the tourists after opting out of the Test series.

Pakistan will also welcome back seamer Rana Naved, 31, and opening batsman Imran Nazir, 27, who will represent the country once again after breaking links with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League.

All eyes, however, will be on talented 19 year old batsman Umar Akmal, the younger brother of wicket keeper Kamran Akmal, who forced his way onto the side with impressive scores in domestic cricket.

Umar hit an unbeaten 101 in a warm up match in Kurunegala on Monday when Pakistan failed to chase down Sri Lanka ’s 348-6 by just 15 runs.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be boosted by the return of world bowling record holder Muttiah Muralitharan and fiery fast bowler Lasith Malinga after they both missed the Test series with knee injuries.

Muralitharan, who has taken more Test (770) and one day (505) wickets than any other bowler, will lend experience to the hosts’ bowling attack in the absence of veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas.

Vaas retired from Test cricket after the Pakistan series, but was ignored for the one dayers despite insisting he would play limited overs cricket till the 2011 World Cup.

Middle order batsman Thilan Samaraweera returns to the one day arena after four years, but dashing Tillakaratne Dilshan will miss the series after sustaining finger and eye injuries during the third Test.Upul Tharanga is expected to open the innings with veteran Sanath Jayasuriya.The rivals will also play a Twenty20 international in Colombo on August 12 after the one dayers end.

Pakistan’s interim selection committee on Wednesday snubbed controversial speedster Shoaib Akhtar and recalled disgraced pacer Mohammad Asif in the preliminary 30-member squad for the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled in South Africa later this year.

The interim selection committee headed by former Test captain Wasim Bari also announced the squad for the ODI series in Sri Lanka and Shoaib Akhtar did not feature there as well.

The interim selection committee, which also includes captain Younis Khan, vice captain Misbah-ul-Haq and coach Intikhab Alam, sprang a surprise by naming Asif for the Champions Trophy.

Asif is serving a 12-month ban for failing a dope test in last year’s Indian Premier League and the suspension ends on the day the Champions Trophy starts.

A Pakistan Cricket Board insisted that the authorities had got required clearance from the International Cricket Council and the drugs inquiry tribunal of the IPL before naming Asif whose ban ends on September 22.

Asif was last month fined by an inquiry committee, also headed by Bari, Rs one million for his 19-day detention in Dubai last year for possessing opium.

Asif has not played any cricket since last July when the Pakistan board also clamped a blanket ban on him for his failed dope test and the Dubai incident.

Meanwhile, Shoaib Akhtar’s omissiom from both the squads will come as a shock for him as indications were that he would be considered for the Champions Trophy despite recent fitness and disciplinary issues.

The Pakistani selectors have also called up former Indian Cricket League (ICL) recruits Imran Nazir and Rana Naved for the one-day series in Sri Lanka and also for the Champions Trophy.

They, along with Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq, had resigned from the rebel league in late June and returned to mainstream cricket after paying a fine.

As expected, the selectors have omitted leg spinner Danish Kaneria from the one-day squads and included some rookie players, including batsman Umar Akmal, in both the squads.

Pakistan senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf, who returned to international cricket with a cracking century against Sri Lanka in the first Test, zoomed to the number one spot in the latest ICC Test Rankings.

After snapping his ties with the rebel Indian Cricket League, Yousuf marked his return to the national team in style, hitting a pivotal 112 in the first innings at Galle.

The numero uno status, which Yousuf attained toppling his skipper Younis Khan, gives Pakistan a 1-2 position in the table for the first time since the rankings were introduced in June 1987.

Yousuf was second when he was removed from the rankings table early in 2009 as Pakistan had not played a Test match since before the qualification date for the rankings.

Even though Yousuf with the bat, Pakistan made a mess of things on the fourth day of the Test when it lost eight wickets for 46 runs to lose by 50 runs while chasing a modest 168-run target.

Younis, who scored 25 and 3 in the Test, paid the price for his failures as he not only dropped to second position but also conceded 30 valuable points.

His Sri Lankan counterpart Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 9 and 14, also faced the brunt of a poor Test, after being dropped two places to fifth position.

Sangakkara’s fall has benefitted Indian opener Gautam Gambhir and Shivnarine Chanderpaul of West Indies. Both the left-handers have moved up one place each to occupy third and fourth places respectively.

Thilan Samaraweera has dropped out of the top 20 after slipping two places to 22nd, Tillekeratne Dilshan had fallen two places to 27th, Kamran Akmal has dropped one position to 30th and Salman Butt has slipped to 52nd position after losing two places.

Among the Test bowlers, Pakistan pacer Umar Gul have dropped four places to 18th position while Sri Lanka spin wizard Ajantha Mendis slipped three places to 28th spot.

However, Galle Test’s surprise hero Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who took 4-15 in the second innings, has jumped eight places to 48th position.

Pakistan left-arm pacer Mohammad Aamer, who had returned with a figure of 6-117, has entered the table in 60th position while Younis, who had figures of 2-23 and 2-27, has zoomed 29 places to 83rd spot.

Jacques Kallis continues to lead the Test all-rounders list with Mitchell Johnson of Australia in second and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori in third position.

Star fast bowler Shane Bond has returned to the New Zealand one-day squad for their tour to Sri Lanka starting next month.

Bond fell out with New Zealand last year after signing for the Indian Cricket League (ICL) but has been welcomed back after cutting his ties with the rebel competition, along with fellow quick Daryl Tuffey.

Bond was named Tuesday only for the one-day and Twenty20 squads for the Sri Lankan tour starting next month and will first join the New Zealand A team for its tour to India next month.

New Zealand selection panel head Glenn Turner said the 34-year-old Bond would have a chance to “get up to speed” with New Zealand A before joining the top team.

In an injury-plagued career, Bond has taken 79 Test wickets at an average of 22.39 in 17 Tests and 67 wickets in 125 one-day internationals at 19.32.

Tuffey, who last played in a Test in 2004, returns to the national side following a strong domestic season.

Turner said the selectors had taken Sri Lankan conditions into account in the selection of the 31-year-old medium-fast bowler, who took 66 wickets in 22 Tests.

Auckland wicketkeeper Reece Young received his first call-up to the top national side to provide cover for Brendon McCullum.

New Zealand will play two Tests, five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches on the Sri Lanka tour.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt has forgiven opener Imran Nazir for his misconduct during a domestic Twenty20 championship final, paving the way for his return to the national team for the one-day series in Sri Lanka.

The PCB confirmed that Nazir submitted a written apology to Butt for his misconduct in the final at Gaddafi stadium when he showed strong dissent over an umpiring decision.Nazir was later fined Rs 10,000 rupees and banned for three matches by the match referee.

Nazir last played for Pakistan in 2007 against South Africa before he joined the rebel Indian Cricket League from which he resigned recently.

The source said Nazir and the other ICL players who had resigned, including Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Rana Naved, had all been fined Rs 500,000 rupees each as penalty for playing in an unauthorised league.

“But they are all now permitted to play for Pakistan,” he said.

Pakistan captain Younis Khan has advised his fellow players to revise their contracts with the Indian Premier League following the team’s World Twenty20 victory.

“After all, these players are now World champions and highly marketable. There is more value on their performances.Why should they keep on having contracts with the IPL franchises on same old contracts,” Younis said.

He pointed out that top players like Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul and Misbah-ul Haq had signed contracts for USD 100,000 or less with the IPL when it was launched in 2008.

“But now the scenario is different. These players should talk to their agents in India and ask them to go for a hike in price from the IPL franchises,” he said.

Pakistani players could not take part in the IPL second season which was shifted to South Africa from India due to security reasons.They were advised against travelling to India for the IPL because of the strained relations between the two countries after the Mumbai terror attacks.

But IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said after Pakistan’s World Cup win that he saw no problems in Pakistani players returning to play for their franchises in the IPL next year provided the Pakistan government gives them permission and the Indian government also clears them to play in India.

Younis said any money earned by the players from the IPL would be beneficial for them and for Pakistan as the money would come to Pakistan.

“I am happy if any of our players can be better packages in the IPL for next season,” said Younis, who ended his contract with the Rajasthan Royals before the second season of the IPL.Younis has also announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket after Pakistan’s World Cup win.

Indications are that Pakistani players including Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir might get a chance to play for their franchise in the Champions League planned this year while Shahid Afridi is also being targeted by Australian state side, New South Wales for Twenty20 cricket.

Asked about the return of the players from the Indian Cricket League to the national team, Younis said it was a good development as this would strengthen the team.

“But I would like to see these players who are now leaving the ICL why they joined this league in the first place.”

Younis was also critical of statements from Imran Nazir and Rana Naved, who have resigned from the ICL asking for surety they would be selected in the national team.

“How can any player be given surety they will play for Pakistan. Razzaq has returned to the team and performed well so he is playing.”

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam said his players’ fitness will be the key on their tour of Sri Lanka as the 15-man Pakistan team set off on Saturday.

Alam, who led the team to the World Twenty20 title in England last week, warned that the biggest problem for the tourists will be the hot climate.

“Fitness is very important on the tough and long tour of Sri Lanka,” said Alam before heading for Dubai and then Colombo.The tour comprises three Tests followed by five one-day matches and a Twenty20 international.

The first Test starts in Galle on July 4 but Pakistan open the tour with a three-day match against a Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo from Monday.

“Sri Lanka will be hot and in such a climate your fitness is tested, so we have on fitness, which will play an important role,” said the former leg-spinner and Pakistan captain.He said the series would be interesting as both teams have talent.

“Sri Lanka have quality spinners in Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis but our batting is good and I hope it will be up to the challenge of playing in the heat and against two world-class spinners,” he said.

Pakistan have been boosted by the return of star batsman Mohammad Yousuf, who broke his ties with the unrecognised Indian Cricket League (ICL), clearing the way for his return to the international fold.

The 34-year-old, who scored a world record 1,788 runs in 2006 — the most in a calendar year — joined the rebel league in protest over his removal from the national team for the first World Twenty20 two years ago.

“I want to give a performance which cap my return to international cricket in a memorable manner,” said Yousuf, whose last Test was in Bangalore in December 2007.

“It will be tough because when you play international cricket after a big gap its difficult, but I will do my best to play my part in the team’s win against Sri Lanka, who are a very tough team on their home grounds.”

All-rounder Abdul Razzaq, who broke his ties with the ICL earlier this month, also makes a return and would be a certainty for the Tests as third seamer.

India takes on giant-killers Ireland in today’s T20 World Cup fixture. Shouldn’t the BCCI be boycotting the game? Perplexed? When India takes the field for tonight’s game it will probably be the first time an India team is involved in a Match that also features players who’ve been involved in the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Ireland mainstays Niall O’Brien and Boyd Rankin turned up for the Delhi Jets and the Kolkata Tigers in the inaugural season respectively.

Keeper O’Brien was in fact the man of the match in Ireland’s victory over Bangladesh in their earlier match. He was also the MOM when he scored a gritty 72 to lead the Irish to a famous victory over India’s arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup. Rankin meanwhile took career best figures of 3/32 in the match and also  topped the bowling charts for Men in Green for the tournament. The two are in fact the only ex ICL players to have turned up for their national sides in official tournaments so far.

The BCCI looks like is unaware of the ICL presence in the Ireland team. They may have relaxed rules for ex ICL talent and is in the process of welcoming them back to the ‘official’ fold and so is unlikely to create any problems in tonight’s game even if they are aware of the situation. But it should be noted that Rankin and O’Brien returned to national colors as far as back in March 2008, more than an year before the Indian Board’s pardoning of the ‘rebels’. If Ireland goes on to upset the Indians tonight, the ICL bosses will have a reason to smile. After all it will be the only time that they probably will taste any sort of success against the BCCI.

As the Chennai Super Kings registered the highest run total of 179 for 5 in the ongoing second edition of Indian Premier League, the Australian Mathew Hayden took the credit of scoring the second fastest IPL Twenty20 half century. His match winning 65 off 35 balls later set the tone for the Super Kings to win the match.

The Australian took just 22 balls to got his fifty against the Bangalore Royal Challengers, while India’s Yusuf Pathan holds the record for his 21-ball fifty for Rajasthan Royals against Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad in the last edition of IPL.

Hayden, 37, who had already taken his retirement from the international cricket, has been a hit in the IPL. Super Kings’ Hayden is currently the leading scorer in the tournament with 109 runs in two matches. In the opening match against Mumbai Indians he too had a fine contribution of 44 runs. Hayden is now the first holder of Orange cap in the IPL-2.

The second in the list of run scored is Rahul Dravid of Royal Challengers who has scored 86 runs in two matches.

Talking about the last match, both Hayden and Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan turned the clock for the Chennai Super Kings while posting their first win. Murali picked up 3 for 11, as Chennai Super Kings thrashed Bangalore Royal Challengers by 92 runs.

Five years ago there weren’t any major sporting leagues in India. That’s not to say that team sports aren’t popular in India; the men’s national cricket team is the most popular in the world and the men’s national field hockey team was once the dominant force in the sport. However, India’s team sport infrastructure has always been fractured for a variety of reasons, including economy, crappy administration, distance, and infrastructure. It’s not that there weren’t professional opportunities for some athletes but the competitions were scattered with many different competitions. For example, soccer was divided into several small regional/state leagues that didn’t amount to much. The cricket season was even more confusing. There were corporate teams in the Japanese tradition that held little interest for fans. A player might spend part of the year on a corporate team and then another part of the year on a regional team. Due to the mentioned restrictions, this was just the way it had to be.

Things began to change in 2005 when the Indian (Field) Hockey Federation, in partnership with ESPN, launched the Premier Hockey League, effectively the world’s first professional field hockey league of any note. Although the sport is widespread, the only time it traditionally musters much spectator support is the Summer Olympics. The PHL is changing that to some degree, with seven teams currently competing around the country.

Two years later, soccer finally organized a high-profile, national competition known as the I-League (in the Asian tradition of Japan’s J. League, Korea’s K-League, Singapore’s S. League, Vietnam’s V-League, Australia’s A-League, and Oceania’s O-League). The league has expanded to 12 teams but they’re spread around only 4 cities, based on soccer enthusiasm. Still, it’s a good start and should improve the national team.

Cricket got into the game at the same time, although “illegally”. The Indian Cricket League began play in 2007 as a rebel league. Organized outside of the official cricket structures, anyone and everyone associated with the league is an outcast, banned by their national associations. Regardless, the league was an instant success.

The following year, the Indian Premier League began play. With endorsement from all of the official cricket channels, the league has been just as successful as the ICL. The competition between the IPL and ICL is somewhat reminiscent of league wars in the United States, including National League vs American League, NFL vs AFL, NHL vs WHA, and NBA vs ABA. Each of these cases resulted in some level of merging. In spite of the hardlining of cricket officials, the ICL seems destined to be accepted at some point unless it kills itself off.

All of these leagues have massive potential for growth. For now, the PHL, I-League, ICL, and IPL will continue to fight for attention in the faltering economy and quickly cluttering Indian. If things go well, India could have the largest systme of pro leagues outside of the USA and Britain.

The Indian Cricket League, currently in limbo following the cancellation of its World Series in the wake of last year’s attacks in Mumbai, and apparently running seriously short of cash, has offered its Kiwi players the option of being released from their contracts.

Some of the New Zealanders involved, notably Shane Bond and Darryl Tuffey, have sacrified their international careers by getting involved with the ‘rebel’ ICL, and if they were to cut their ties with the competition, it could raise the possibility of them playing again for the Black Caps. Whilst Bond has talked down this possibility in the past, Tuffey is reportedly keen to represent his country once again.

Perhaps of greater interest for those outside of New Zealand are the implications of this news on the expected future of the ICL itself. With subcontinental cricket involving non-subcontinental players seemingly becoming an ever rarer sight for ’security reasons’, and the global economy looking shakier than it has been in decades, can the world support two Indian Twenty20 leagues?

The BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket in India) seems to have forgotten what the very initials of their organisation stand for. They seem to think that they can decide who does what anywhere in the cricket speaking world!

Whether it is the makeup of a team to play against India in a different country, the roster of commentators for a completely independent broadcaster, or even the players who are eligible to play in competitions run by other organisations in other countries. They don’t seem to have any limit to their own perception of their authority. Surely the last letter of their acronym should give some idea of where their sphere of influence in the sport? Doesn’t the acronym BCCI limit them to control of the game IN INDIA? Then why do they think that they can demand presence or absence of certain participants in other countries, other games and other companies?

In New Zealand recently India requested that NZ not select a certain player as part of its own Invitation Eleven to play against India. NZ quite rightly refused and selected the player in question. India then threw a tantrum and pulled out one of its own star players! Why just one, why not all of them? Why the star of the team? Was the player allowed to have a say – it’s his career, presumably he wanted to play!

Later in the tour of NZ, a particular person was invited to be a commentator by one of the NZ broadcasters. Again India tossed their toys out the window and demanded that he not commentate!! What arrogance! Did they really think that a company in a different country, pursuing its own profit motives as best it could, would change their mind because of the BCCI? Maybe if the BCCI backed up their demands with some wads of cash, but that’s pretty unlikely!! These, and many other, unwarranted demands around the world are causing a lot of very unnecessary furore.

The point of contention is that these people have some past connection with the ICL tournament, which runs in competition against the BCCI’s own tournament – the IPL. And to have any connection is not just frowned on, it is harshly banned. Players around the world have had their international careers cut short simply because they were involved with the ICL and thus annoyed the BCCI, who then ‘leaned’ on the national organisations of the players involved and got them ‘unselected’.

If they want to ban half the players in their own country from the international cricket scene – go ahead, their problem. But they have no mandate to try and do the same thing in any other country around the world. Stop creating turmoil in the international game, and stick to shitting in your own nest. That’s were you belong BCCIndia!

Source:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/7942095.stm

We reported earlier this week that the Indian Cricket League has had to be postponed until later in the year due to the credit crunch, well now it seems that the same fate has befallen the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Indian officials have announced today that because the IPL dates (10 April – 24 May), clash with National elections in the country (16 April – 13 May), the government has said it will not have enough security officials to guarantee player safety during this time. Instead, the IPL will have to move its playing schedule (after the government refused to move its elections!) and new dates for the competition should be published shortly.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/7902848.stm; http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/cricket/pakistan-court-suspends-ban-on-rebel-icl-players/2009/02/03/1233423175195.html ; http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/feb/12/indian-cricket-league-twenty20-cancelled

Looks like the row between the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to rumble on. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has failed to broker a deal between the two sides and it is now down to the ICC Board meeting in April in Dubai to reach a solution.

The row stems over recognition of Twenty20 competitions and in particular the BCCI’s refusal to allow the ICL to have “unofficial cricket status” as it is a rival tournament to the Indian Premier League. (The ICL was created by Subhash Chandra (founder of satellite channel – Zee TV) after his bids for Indian cricket rights were constantly rejected). The BCCI has even gone so far as to issue a life ban to any Indian player competing in the ICL.

While the Pakistan Cricket Board, has taken a similar stance and banned 19 Pakistani players from playing in the domestic Pakistan league after they agreed to play in the ICL, the provincial Sindh high court has now overturned the ban. The court’s ruling does not apply to International team selection however.

The ICL was due to start this month, however the global economic crisis has forced the tournament to be postponed, possibly until November.

LAHORE: Test cricketer Mohammad Yousuf has called upon Federal Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jilani here and discussed his comeback in the team with him.

Talking to media after the meeting, Sports minister said he is trying to resolve the issue with mutual consent but it is not possible to give specific deadline for Yousuf’s comeback in the team.

Mohammad Yousuf said the law of International Cricket Council (ICC) was announced after his joining of Indian Cricket League (ICL) and he is still willing to play for Pakistan.

source : jang.com.pk

In this season of goodwill to all, the ICC seem to have extended an olive branch to the rebel Indian Cricket League by holding talks with Subhash Chandra, the ICL’s owner.

Meetings like this have been held before, of course, but notable this time was the presence of former BCCI president and current ICC vice-president Sharad Pawar. This may be an indication of a softening in stance from the previously hard-line BCCI.
I think most cricket fans would like to see this issue resolved now, and I hope that meetings such as this will help bring about an end to the international exile and leper-like status imposed on the likes of Mohammad Yousuf and Shane Bond.

Watch ICL Pakistan XI v ICL World XI Live Streaming

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Fixtures ICL 20s World Series, 2008/09 November 2008 Sun 23 19:30 local, 14:00 GMT ICL Bangladesh XI v ICL World XI Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Mon 24 19:30 local, 14:00 GMT ICL India XI v ICL Pakistan XI Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Tue 25 19:30 local, 14:00 GMT ICL Bangladesh XI v ICL India XI Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Wed 26 19:30 local, 14:00 GMT ICL Pakistan XI v ICL World XI Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Thu 27 19:30 local, 14:00 GMT ICL Bangladesh XI v ICL Pakistan XI Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Fri 28 19:30 local, 14:00 GMT ICL India XI v ICL World XI Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Sat 29 19:30 local, 14:00 GMT Final – TBC v TBC Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad

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