Indian Cricket League
Encyclopedia
The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was a private cricket
league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India
. Its two seasons included tournaments between four international teams (The World, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and nine domestic teams notionally located in major Indian cities as well as the champions Lahore Badshahs who were based in Lahore
, Pakistan
. The matches were played in the Twenty20
format. There was also a planned domestic 50-over tournament, but this did not eventuate. While its establishment pre-dated the Indian Premier League
, the ICL folded in 2009. Aside from commercial factors, the ICL lacked the support of the Board of Control for Cricket in India
.
, had bid for the telecast rights to the 2003 Cricket World Cup
. Although the highest bid, it was unsuccessful. In 2004, Subhash Chandra again bid for telecast rights and ended up in an inconclusive court battle. He made another bid for the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy
rights and once again lost. He responded by creating the ICL. “They denied us the cricket content,” said Himanshu Mody, business head of ICL and Zee’s sports,“so, we had to create our own content.”
Zee Telefilms announced that it would partner with major infrastructure group IL&FS to create a new, ambitious cricket organisation, the Indian Cricket League. with prize money of one million US dollars in the initial edition for the winning team.
The ICL was set up with a billion dollar Indian Rupee
corpus, and was to initially comprise six teams playing Twenty20
cricket, with plans to expand to sixteen teams within three years and to eventually move to 50-over matches. These plans, if they had been realised, would have made the ICL the richest professional league in India. On 24 July 2007, some famous international names were announced to have signed to play in the ICL, including highest innings record-holder Brian Lara
.
Due to the unofficial nature of the league, most of the national cricket boards warned their players against joining it and as a result most of the international players who signed for the first edition were retired internationals, such as Brian Lara
, Chris Cairns and Craig McMillan
, or former players with little hope of breaking back into their national team, such as Chris Read
and Daryl Tuffey
(who has since broken back in the New Zealand team, after breaking ties with the league). A notable exception was Imran Farhat
, who chose to opt out of his Pakistan Central contract to sign with the League. Former Pakistan
captain Javed Miandad
said he was not able to understand why the PCB would not allow its players to participate in the league and why it was threatening players with a lifetime ban. The PCB subsequently banned players involved in the ICL from playing domestic cricket, a move that prompted some players, notably Farhat and Taufeeq Umar
, to threaten court action.
The opposition to the league from the national cricket boards across the world and the International Cricket Council
(ICC) was continued into the league's second edition. Several international ICC players who were signed to play domestic cricket for teams in the English County Championship
, including Shane Bond
, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan
, Mushtaq Ahmed
and Jason Gillespie
were unable to fulfill their County Championship contracts because the home counties cricket boards refused to grant them the necessary documents to play in England.
The first edition of the league commenced on 30 November 2007. The league consisted of six teams with the matches played at Panchkula
, near Chandigarh
. Matches were initially held at Tau Devi Lal stadium in Panchkula
, near Chandigarh
, Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad, and at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Gurgaon
http://www.d2i.in/visit/Tau-Devi-Lal-Stadium_Sector-38-Gurgaon_-All-Area_X-Places/7778, near New Delhi
. In 2008, ICL games were played at more venues.
The first edition had 6 teams; this was expanded to 8 in early 2008, and one more team was added in the second half of that year. Players participating in this league had been threatened with bans by the cricket boards of their respective countries, as the ICL was regarded by them as an unsanctioned rebel league. However most of the players continue to play first class cricket under the control of their respective boards. The first edition concluded on 16 December 2007 with the Chennai Superstars
winning the first title. The second edition was a 50 over tournament played from 7 January 2008 to 28 January 2008 at Mayajaal Cricket Ground, near Chennai
, with Chennai Superstars winning again. A third edition which commenced on 9 March 2008 saw the league expanded to eight teams and matches being played at two further venues, Hyderabad and Gurgaon
. The Hyderabad Heroes
won the 3rd edition. The fourth edition was a domestic Twenty-20 tournament won by Chandigarh Lions.
The second season, which added Ahmedabad
as a venue, commenced in the last quarter of 2008, with the Lahore Badshahs
from Pakistan winning.
(BCCI) was assured that it was free to draw from ICL's talent pool. The league became active in November 2007 with matches in the Twenty20 format.
Former international cricketers including Kapil Dev
, Tony Greig
, Dean Jones
and Kiran More
were hired as board members of the Indian Cricket League. The board positions will be paid positions.
India
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Essel Group had originally launched Zee Sports
earlier with the anticipation of bagging at least some of the BCCI telecast rights in 2006. This was followed by Zee acquiring 50 percent in TEN Sports
in November 2006 for Rs. 257 crore (Rs. 2.57 billion). This gave the company a few international cricket rights — West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Cricket played in India generates Rs. 1,000 crore (Rs. 10 billion) in advertising and subscription revenue and Subhash Chandra has been acutely aware of his company missing out on this lucrative cricket pie.
During his battle with BCCI and ESPN Star Sports
for the five-year telecast rights in August–September 2004 in the Bombay High Court
, Chandra was present every day for the hearings. Despite Zee bidding the highest at $307 million, BCCI and its then president Jagmohan Dalmiya
denied him the rights.
The pain of denial has been with Chandra since 2000 when the ICC World Cup rights were sold to NewsCorp’s Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) for $550 million despite Zee bidding the highest at $650 million citing Zee's insufficient sports marketing experience.
In August 2005, Zee again emerged as a forerunner with a pitch of over $340 million while ESPN Star Sports, the other principal contender, is believed to have offered around $325 million. BCCI took the stance that Zee was not qualified as a specialist broadcaster and refused to consider Zee’s proposal. The matter expectedly went to court and Doordarshan
emerged the beneficiary.
Chandra then tried the political route too and supported Sharad Pawar
’s candidature as BCCI president against Dalmiya. Pawar emerged victorious but not Chandra. In the last round of bidding in February, last year, it was Nimbus
who bagged BCCI’s telecast rights till 2011 for $613 million with Zee trailing at $513 million.
Since there was a Zee-Nimbus alliance before the bidding, media pundits thought Nimbus’ bid was a Zee front. But Nimbus chose to go its own way and launched its own sports network – NEO Sports.
, which is a private resort with good cricket facilities. Indian Railways chief Lalu Prasad has shown his backing by opening all the cricket stadiums controlled by the Indian Railways to the league. Describing the ICL as a “good initiative”, Prasad has issued a statement saying that the BCCI
and ICL should each come up with a cricket team and play against each other to show who's the best. http://cricket.indiatimes.com/Lalu_to_BCCI__ICL_Compete_on_field/articleshow/2310807.cms The state government of West Bengal
has also agreed to rent its cricket grounds, notably Eden Gardens
, to the league.
, a BCCI owned cricket facility. On August 21, 2007 Kapil Dev was sacked from his NCA post. Subhash Chandra had earlier stated that the ICL will go ahead regardless of the BCCI's stance. The International Cricket Council
gave a statement through its chief executive, Malcolm Speed
, that the ICC would not recognize the ICL unless the BCCI chooses to recognise it. The ICC looks at the ICL as an issue to be sorted out by the BCCI.
Faced with the threat of young players joining the ICL, the BCCI jacked up prize money for winners, runners-up and losing semi-finalists across all tournaments. An average domestic cricketer can hope to make around Rs 35,000 per match day from the season of 2007-08: more than double the Rs 16,000 they got in 2005-06. The BCCI has also planned to do away with honorary selectors, who will be paid professionals from September 2008 onwards.
The BCCI started its own international Twenty20 league. The official league, which launched in April 2008, is called the Indian Premier League
Twenty20 cricket. The league model is revolutionary, based on the franchise model of the National Football League
and Major League Baseball
in the USA.
On August 27, 2007, the Delhi High Court ruled in favor of the ICL. In its ruling, the Delhi High Court said that players should not suffer in the battle between corporate giants. The court has issued notices to all corporate sponsors, the state cricket associations & the BCCI against terminating valid contracts of players joining the ICL.
The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) of India had asked its Director-General of Investigation to do an initial investigation into the BCCI's action against players who had joined the ICL. The investigation was based on media reports of the BCCI giving an open statement that it will ban players who join ICL. It was also reported in the media that all state associations, under direction from the BCCI, have cancelled contracts with players.
The addition of a new team from Dhaka
in Bangladesh, consisting largely of Bangladesh internationals caused more controversy as the cricket board of that country banned the players for 10 years for joining the 'rebel' ICL. Faced with the departure of so many players the board appealed to other Bangladeshi players to reject the new ICL team, stay loyal to the board and embrace the opportunity to play for their country.
The huge success of IPL is also a reason of the coming down of ICL.
Shortly before the conclusion of the inaugural tournament, the ICL announced its plans for expansion, which include a fifty over tournament in February 2008, and the expansion of the ICL Indian Championship to eight teams for the second tournament, due to be held in September and October 2008.
A similar initiative has been launched in United States by the PayAutoMata group but details have yet to emerge.
In October 2008, the promoters of the ICL, Zee and its parent company Essel Sports Pvt. Ltd, had applied for trademark registration of T20 under Class 28 of the Trade Mark Rules, 2002.
i government set a ban on the broadcasting of live matches of the ICL on a the private held Diganta TV channel in the country. This would extend to the ICL World Series featuring the country's national team.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
league funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises that operated between 2007 and 2009 in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Its two seasons included tournaments between four international teams (The World, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and nine domestic teams notionally located in major Indian cities as well as the champions Lahore Badshahs who were based in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The matches were played in the Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
format. There was also a planned domestic 50-over tournament, but this did not eventuate. While its establishment pre-dated the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
, the ICL folded in 2009. Aside from commercial factors, the ICL lacked the support of the Board of Control for Cricket in India
Board of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered at Mumbai, is the national governing body for all cricket in India. It's not the apex governing body in India. The board was formed in December 1928 as BCCI replaced Calcutta Cricket Club. BCCI is a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu...
.
History
Zee Telefilms, part of the Essel group promoted by Subhash ChandraSubhash Chandra
Subhash Chandra is a onetime rice exporter-turned media baron and Chairman of Essel Group, that launched India's satellite television revolution. The Zee chairman dropped out after standard 12. His pioneering channel Zee TV competes with, among others, Sony Entertainment Television and STAR Plus...
, had bid for the telecast rights to the 2003 Cricket World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
. Although the highest bid, it was unsuccessful. In 2004, Subhash Chandra again bid for telecast rights and ended up in an inconclusive court battle. He made another bid for the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy
2006 ICC Champions Trophy
The 2006 ICC Champions Trophy was a One Day International cricket tournament held in India from 7 October to 5 November 2006. It was the fifth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy...
rights and once again lost. He responded by creating the ICL. “They denied us the cricket content,” said Himanshu Mody, business head of ICL and Zee’s sports,“so, we had to create our own content.”
Zee Telefilms announced that it would partner with major infrastructure group IL&FS to create a new, ambitious cricket organisation, the Indian Cricket League. with prize money of one million US dollars in the initial edition for the winning team.
The ICL was set up with a billion dollar Indian Rupee
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
corpus, and was to initially comprise six teams playing Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
cricket, with plans to expand to sixteen teams within three years and to eventually move to 50-over matches. These plans, if they had been realised, would have made the ICL the richest professional league in India. On 24 July 2007, some famous international names were announced to have signed to play in the ICL, including highest innings record-holder Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
.
Due to the unofficial nature of the league, most of the national cricket boards warned their players against joining it and as a result most of the international players who signed for the first edition were retired internationals, such as Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
, Chris Cairns and Craig McMillan
Craig McMillan
Craig Douglas McMillan is a former New Zealand international cricketer at Test, One Day International and Twenty20 level. He was a right-handed batsman and useful right-arm medium pace bowler and played for Canterbury in New Zealand first-class cricket...
, or former players with little hope of breaking back into their national team, such as Chris Read
Chris Read
Christopher Mark Wells Read is an English cricketer, a wicket-keeper who is the captain of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club...
and Daryl Tuffey
Daryl Tuffey
Daryl Raymond Tuffey is a New Zealand cricketer who has represented New Zealand at Test and ODI level, and plays domestic first class cricket for Northern Districts Knights. He is playfully known as Daryl "Huffy-Puffy" Tuffey by his Northern Districts team mates due to his heavy breathing when...
(who has since broken back in the New Zealand team, after breaking ties with the league). A notable exception was Imran Farhat
Imran Farhat
Imran Farhat is a Pakistani cricketer who has played over 30 Tests and One Day Internationals for Pakistan, opening the batting in most of his international innings.-Career:...
, who chose to opt out of his Pakistan Central contract to sign with the League. Former Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
captain Javed Miandad
Javed Miandad
Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
said he was not able to understand why the PCB would not allow its players to participate in the league and why it was threatening players with a lifetime ban. The PCB subsequently banned players involved in the ICL from playing domestic cricket, a move that prompted some players, notably Farhat and Taufeeq Umar
Taufeeq Umar
Taufeeq Umar is a Pakistani cricketer who was a regular Test opening batsman for three seasons, before being dropped ahead of the 2004–05 season. Unusually for a Pakistani player, Umar has played more Tests than ODIs, as he was not given a prolonged run in the ODI side until 2003, when he played...
, to threaten court action.
The opposition to the league from the national cricket boards across the world and the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
(ICC) was continued into the league's second edition. Several international ICC players who were signed to play domestic cricket for teams in the English County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
, including Shane Bond
Shane Bond
Shane Edward Bond was a New Zealand cricketer, described as "New Zealand's best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee". He has represented New Zealand in Test, ODI and Twenty20 International cricket as well as playing for Canterbury in New Zealand domestic cricket and Warwickshire in English...
, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan
Rana Naved-ul-Hasan is a cricketer who plays for the Pakistani Test and One Day International teams...
, Mushtaq Ahmed
Mushtaq Ahmed
Mushtaq Ahmed is a retired Pakistani cricketer who specialised as a leg spin bowler. He was known for his hard-to-pick googly. He memorably trapped Graeme Hick in front with one during the 1992 World Cup final. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997...
and Jason Gillespie
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent...
were unable to fulfill their County Championship contracts because the home counties cricket boards refused to grant them the necessary documents to play in England.
The first edition of the league commenced on 30 November 2007. The league consisted of six teams with the matches played at Panchkula
Panchkula
Panchkula is a planned city in Panchkula district, Haryana, India. It is a satellite city of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. It also shares seamless border with Mohali district in Punjab. The prestigious Chandimandir Cantonment Headquarters of the Indian Army Western Command, is also located in...
, near Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
. Matches were initially held at Tau Devi Lal stadium in Panchkula
Panchkula
Panchkula is a planned city in Panchkula district, Haryana, India. It is a satellite city of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. It also shares seamless border with Mohali district in Punjab. The prestigious Chandimandir Cantonment Headquarters of the Indian Army Western Command, is also located in...
, near Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
, Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad, and at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
http://www.d2i.in/visit/Tau-Devi-Lal-Stadium_Sector-38-Gurgaon_-All-Area_X-Places/7778, near New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. In 2008, ICL games were played at more venues.
The first edition had 6 teams; this was expanded to 8 in early 2008, and one more team was added in the second half of that year. Players participating in this league had been threatened with bans by the cricket boards of their respective countries, as the ICL was regarded by them as an unsanctioned rebel league. However most of the players continue to play first class cricket under the control of their respective boards. The first edition concluded on 16 December 2007 with the Chennai Superstars
Chennai Superstars
Chennai Superstars was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League founded in 2007. The team is based in Chennai, coached by Michael Bevan and captained by Stuart Law, both reputed Australian cricketers....
winning the first title. The second edition was a 50 over tournament played from 7 January 2008 to 28 January 2008 at Mayajaal Cricket Ground, near Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, with Chennai Superstars winning again. A third edition which commenced on 9 March 2008 saw the league expanded to eight teams and matches being played at two further venues, Hyderabad and Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
. The Hyderabad Heroes
Hyderabad Heroes
Hyderabad Heroes was one of the eight teams that competed in the Indian Cricket League. The team was based in Hyderabad and its captain was former New Zealand player Chris Harris.-Players:...
won the 3rd edition. The fourth edition was a domestic Twenty-20 tournament won by Chandigarh Lions.
The second season, which added Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
as a venue, commenced in the last quarter of 2008, with the Lahore Badshahs
Lahore Badshahs
Lahore Badshahs was one of the nine teams that competed in the 2008 and 2008/09 competition of the defunct Indian Cricket League . The captain was former Pakistani captain and batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq...
from Pakistan winning.
League structure
Each team was coached by a former international cricketer and comprised four international, two Indian and eight budding domestic players. Essel Group also planned to set up cricket academies all over the country. The Board of Control for Cricket in IndiaBoard of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered at Mumbai, is the national governing body for all cricket in India. It's not the apex governing body in India. The board was formed in December 1928 as BCCI replaced Calcutta Cricket Club. BCCI is a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu...
(BCCI) was assured that it was free to draw from ICL's talent pool. The league became active in November 2007 with matches in the Twenty20 format.
Former international cricketers including Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
, Tony Greig
Tony Greig
Anthony "Tony" William Greig is a former English Test cricketer and currently a commentator.Born in Queenstown, South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall batting all-rounder who bowled both medium pace and off spin. He became captain of the...
, Dean Jones
Dean Jones (cricketer)
Dean Mervyn Jones AM is a retired Australian cricketer, and is presently a coach. He also worked as a media commentator.-Career:...
and Kiran More
Kiran More
Kiran Shankar Murat More was the wicket-keeper for the Indian cricket team from 1984 to 1993. He was the Chairman of the Selection Committee of the BCCI till Dilip Vengsarkar took over the job in 2006. He is presently working with Indian Cricket League.-Early career:More played for the India...
were hired as board members of the Indian Cricket League. The board positions will be paid positions.
- Nine teams of private clubs :
- Mumbai ChampsMumbai ChampsMumbai Champs was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League . The team is based in Mumbai, India and its captain is former New Zealand batsman Nathan Astle.- Players :...
- Chennai SuperstarsChennai SuperstarsChennai Superstars was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League founded in 2007. The team is based in Chennai, coached by Michael Bevan and captained by Stuart Law, both reputed Australian cricketers....
- Chandigarh LionsChandigarh LionsChandigarh Lions was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League. They were one of the six founding teams and were the runners-up in the inaugural Twenty20 Championship, which was won by Chennai Superstars...
- Hyderabad HeroesHyderabad HeroesHyderabad Heroes was one of the eight teams that competed in the Indian Cricket League. The team was based in Hyderabad and its captain was former New Zealand player Chris Harris.-Players:...
- Royal Bengal Tigers (Kolkata)
- Delhi GiantsDelhi GiantsDelhi Giants was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League . This team represents the Indian capital city, New Delhi, India and its captain is Marvan Atapattu, former skipper of Sri Lanka.-Players :The squad announced for the inaugural tournament comprises five...
- Ahmedabad RocketsAhmedabad RocketsAhmedabad Rockets was one of the nine teams played in the defunct Indian Cricket League. The captain is former Australian international batsman Damien Martyn...
- Lahore BadshahsLahore BadshahsLahore Badshahs was one of the nine teams that competed in the 2008 and 2008/09 competition of the defunct Indian Cricket League . The captain was former Pakistani captain and batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq...
- Dhaka WarriorsDhaka WarriorsDhaka Warriors was one of the nine teams played in the 2008 competition of the defunct Indian Cricket League . The captain is former Bangladeshi captain and batsman Habibul Bashar. The Dhaka Warriors is solely composed of Bangladeshi players and is only the second team in the competition to be...
- Mumbai Champs
- Each team had a paid mentorMentorIn Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
, media manager, psychologistPsychologistPsychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
and physiotherapist - There was a US$ 1 million prize for the winning club team
- An Ombudsman is available to look into grievances of players
ICL World Teams
The World- John EmbureyJohn EmbureyJohn Ernest Emburey is a former English cricketer, who played for Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Western Province, Berkshire and England....
- Coach,
- Chris Cairns - Captain
- Andrew HallAndrew HallAndrew James Hall is a South African cricketer and a former member of the South African cricket team . He is an all-rounder who bowls fast-medium pace, and has been used as both an opening batsman and in the lower order. Prior to making it on the South African first class cricket scene he played...
, - Chris HarrisChris Harris (cricketer)Chris Zinzan Harris is a former New Zealand cricketer who had become, over the course of the 1990s, a folk-hero in New Zealand cricket....
, - Damien MartynDamien MartynDamien Richard Martyn is a former Australian cricketer. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player in 1999–2000 and a regular Test player in 2001 until his retirement in late 2006...
, - Daryl TuffeyDaryl TuffeyDaryl Raymond Tuffey is a New Zealand cricketer who has represented New Zealand at Test and ODI level, and plays domestic first class cricket for Northern Districts Knights. He is playfully known as Daryl "Huffy-Puffy" Tuffey by his Northern Districts team mates due to his heavy breathing when...
, - Ian HarveyIan HarveyIan Joseph Harvey is an Australian cricketer. He is an all-rounder. He was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 2004.-Australian career:...
, - Jimmy MaherJimmy MaherJames Patrick Maher is a former Australian cricketer. He is "an attractive left-handed batsman with a clumping cover-drive"....
, - Johan van der Wath,
- Lou VincentLou VincentLou Vincent is a professional New Zealand cricketer. He has represented New Zealand in Test match, One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket as well as playing for Auckland in New Zealand domestic cricket and Worcestershire and Lancashire in English domestic cricket.-Early and...
(Wicketkeeper), - Marvan AtapattuMarvan AtapattuMarvan Samson Atapattu is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former Sri Lankan captain. Towards the end of his career he joined the Indian Cricket League and captained the Delhi Giants...
, - Matthew Elliot,
- Michael KasprowiczMichael KasprowiczMichael Scott Kasprowicz is a former Australian Test cricketer. He is a right arm fast bowler, effective outfielder and useful lower order batsman, and has enjoyed a successful career both in Australia and in the English county scene since making his debut for Queensland as a seventeen year old in...
, - Russel ArnoldRussel ArnoldRussel Premakumaran "Rusty" Arnold is a former Sri Lankan cricketer of Tamil descent. Arnold made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1997 and his One day international debut against South Africa later in the year. Originally an opening batsmen, Arnold has since moved down the batting order...
India
- Steve RixonSteve RixonStephen John Rixon is the newly appointed Australian cricket fielding coach.He played in 13 Tests and 6 One Day Internationals between 1977 and 1985. He came into the Australian side as wicket-keeper in 1977–78 after Rodney Marsh joined World Series Cricket, losing his place on Marsh's return...
- Coach
- Rajagopal Satish - Captain
- Abbas AliAbbas AliSyed Abbas Ali , in Indore is a former Indian first class cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman. Ali debuted in 1996/97 and scored his career best score of 251 in the following season. This was a Madhya Pradeshh record at that time, which was better after two years by Jai Yadav made 265 runs in an...
, - Abhishek JhunjhunwalaAbhishek JhunjhunwalaAbhishek Arunkumar Jhunjhunwala is an Indian first-class cricketer. He played for the Royal Bengal Tigers and the Indian World Team in the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 competition, before signing for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League...
, - Abu Nacheem,
- Ali MurtazaAli MurtazaAli Ghulam Murtaza is an Indian First Class cricketer. He is currently a member of Indian World Team in the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 competition. He bowled wonderfully in ICL games and earned a reputation of a very good left-arm spinner. In IPL 2010, he was a part of the Mumbai Indians...
, - Ambati RayuduAmbati RayuduAmbati Thirupathi Rayudu , is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler. He was banned from Indian cricket due to his signing with the rebel ICL. Subsequently Rayudu left the ICL and, following an amnesty offer from BCCI, returned to Indian domestic...
, - Ganapathi VigneshGanapathi VigneshGanapathi Vignesh is an Indian First Class cricketer. He was part of Indian World Team in the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 competition....
, - Ibrahim KhaleelIbrahim KhaleelIbrahim Khaleel is an Indian first-class cricketer who plays as a wicket-keeper for Hyderabad. A right-handed batsman, Khaleel made his first-class debut in 2002. In 2007, he opted to participate in the now defunct Indian Cricket League, competing for the Hyderabad Heroes. He returned to...
(Wicketkeeper), - Love AblishLove Ablishmirza keharwalia is crickter Indian first-class cricketer. He is currently a member of Indian World Team in the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 competition....
, - Ravi Raj Patil,
- Rohan GavaskarRohan GavaskarRohan Sunil Gavaskar is an Indian cricketer who has played in 11 One Day Internationals. He is a specialist middle-order left-handed batsman and an occasional slow left arm orthodox bowler. He studied at St...
, - Stuart BinnyStuart BinnyStuart Binny is an Indian First Class cricketer. He is son of former Indian Test cricketer Roger Binny...
, - Syed Mohammed,
- Thiru Kumaran,
- TP SudhindraTP SudhindraTP Sudhindra is an Indian First Class cricketer. He has been a member of Indian World Team in the Indian Cricket League Twenty20 competition. He is a Ranji Trophy player...
, - Sarbjit Singh,
- Tejinder Pal SinghTejinder Pal SinghTejinder Pal Singh , in Amritsar is an Indian first class cricketer. An allrounder who bowls slow left arm orthodox and bats left-handed, Tejinder has toured with India A and took 6 wickets and made 181 runs in the Top End series in Australia.-External links:...
, - V. Sarvanan
Pakistan
- Moin KhanMoin KhanMohammad Moin Khan , popularly known as Moin Khan , is a former Pakistani cricketer, primarily a wicketkeeper-batsman, who remained a member of the Pakistani national cricket team from 1990 to 2004. He has also captained the Pakistani side. He made his international debut against the West Indies at...
- Coach
- Inzamam-ul-HaqInzamam-ul-HaqInzamam-ul-Haq , also known as Inzamam, nicknamed Inzy, is a former Pakistan international cricketer who was national captain between 2003 and 2007. He is a right-handed batsman who has been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of his era...
- Captain - Azhar MahmoodAzhar MahmoodAzhar Mahmood Sagar is a Pakistani cricketer, . Originally his father objected to his interest in cricket, but later started to appreciate it seeing his accomplishments. As a teenager, Azhar was mentored by Irfan Bhatti who played a One Day International for Pakistan in the early 90’s...
- Taufeeq UmarTaufeeq UmarTaufeeq Umar is a Pakistani cricketer who was a regular Test opening batsman for three seasons, before being dropped ahead of the 2004–05 season. Unusually for a Pakistani player, Umar has played more Tests than ODIs, as he was not given a prolonged run in the ODI side until 2003, when he played...
- Imran FarhatImran FarhatImran Farhat is a Pakistani cricketer who has played over 30 Tests and One Day Internationals for Pakistan, opening the batting in most of his international innings.-Career:...
- Rana Naved-ul-HasanRana Naved-ul-HasanRana Naved-ul-Hasan is a cricketer who plays for the Pakistani Test and One Day International teams...
- Abdul Razzaq
- Naved LatifNaved LatifNaved Latif is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. He has played in one Test match, against the West Indies in January/February 2002. During 2004/05 he started playing Twenty20 cricket...
- Humayun FarhatHumayun FarhatHumayun Farhat is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper. He is one of two brothers to have played test cricket for Pakistan.-Domestic:...
- Arshad KhanArshad KhanArshad Khan is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off break bowler....
- Shahid NazirShahid NazirShahid Nazir is a Pakistani cricketer.He made his Test debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura in 1996, and immediately received much criticism from the spectators whose local favourite Aaqib Javed he was thought to have replaced...
- Hasan RazaHasan RazaHasan Raza is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. He initially was subject to something of a claim for an international cricketing record, as his debut performance was believed to have taken place at the age of 14 years and 227 days, then a...
- Mohammad SamiMohammad SamiMohammad Sami is a Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket who is currently representing the Pakistan cricket team in Test cricket and Twenty20 cricket matches...
- Imran NazirImran NazirImran Nazir is a Pakistani right handed batsman in cricket who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket matches.-Career:...
- Riaz AfridiRiaz AfridiRiaz Afridi is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler....
- Shabbir AhmedShabbir AhmedShabbir Ahmed is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a line-and-length pace bowler who took eight wickets for 109 runs on his Test debut against Bangladesh in the first of their 2003-04 three-Test series...
Bangladesh
- Balwinder SandhuBalwinder SandhuBalwinder Singh Sandhu is a former Indian Test cricketer. He represented India in eight Test matches as a medium pace bowler who could swing the ball and was a useful batsman....
- Coach
- Habibul BasharHabibul BasharQazi Habibul Bashar is a Bangladeshi cricketer, and the former captain of the Bangladeshi cricket team. Under the managership of Davenell Frederick 'Dav' Whatmore, he has been found to be the most successful captain to lead the Bangladesh team to overcome several milestones. The first test...
- Captain - Aftab AhmedAftab AhmedAftab Ahmed Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He is a right hand batsman and right arm medium bowler.- Early life :...
- Alok KapaliAlok KapaliAlok Kapali is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He is an allrounder who bats in the middle to lower order and bowls leg spin with a run-up similar to that of Shane Warne. He is the only Bangladeshi cricket player to take a Test hat-trick.-Test career:Kapali made his Test debut in 2002, against Sri...
- Dhiman GhoshDhiman GhoshDhiman Ghosh is a First class and List A cricketer from Bangladesh. He has played first cricket for Chittagong Division, making his debut in 2004/05, and represented Bangladesh through the age group levels...
- Farhad RezaFarhad RezaFarhad Reza is a Bangladeshi cricketer who made his One Day International debut against Zimbabwe in July 2006 and is the only batsman from Bangladesh to score a half century on debut. He is a right-handed middle order batsman and right arm fast-medium pace bowler and played domestic cricket for...
- Manjural Islam
- Golam MabudGolam MabudGolam Mabud is a First class and List A cricketer from Bangladesh who is sometimes referred to by his nickname 'Sishir'. He was born on the 10 October 1984 in Sylhet and made his first class debut for Sylhet Division in 2001/02....
- Mahbubul KarimMahbubul KarimMahbubul Karim is a First class and List A cricketer from Bangladesh who is sometimes referred to by his nickname Mithu. A specialist batsman, he made his debut for Chittagong Division in 2003/04 and played through the 2006/07 season...
- Mohammad RafiqueMohammad RafiqueMohammed Rafique is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He is the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh in Test matches.-International career:...
- Mohammad SharifMohammad SharifMohammed Sharif, born in 1933 in Nepal, was the head of the Youth Unit, Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs at the United Nations from 1979–1987 and then became in charge of 3 sections: disability, ageing and youth sections...
- Mosharraf HossainMosharraf HossainKhondaker Mosharraf Hossain is a First class and List A cricketer from Bangladesh. He was born on 20 November 1981 in Dhaka and is a left-handed batsman and slow left arm orthodox bowler. He is sometimes known by his nickame Rubel. Making his debut in 2001/02 he has appeared for Dhaka Division...
- Shahriar NafeesShahriar Nafees-Career Story:Nafees, a left-handed opening batsman, first played in the national team in Bangladesh's maiden English Tour . Nafees scored his maiden first-class century, as well as his first in Tests, at Fatullah in April 2006 against Australia. He scored his maiden one-day hundred against...
- Tapash BaisyaTapash BaisyaTapash Baisya is a Bangladeshi cricketer. Tapash Baisya is one of Bangladesh's best pace bowlers to date, having taken 36 Test wickets, although they have come at a bowling average of nearly 60. Nevertheless, he has taken the third-most wickets of any Bangladeshi fast bowler, behind Mashrafe...
ICL Domestic Teams
First season
Second season
Reasons for creation
Several factors have played a role in formulation of a cricket league which may run in parallel to the current official Indian cricket control body, BCCI.The "Inverted Pyramid" cricket structure
There is wide disparity between the facilities enjoyed by the national team and the regional ones. This makes the regional players far from finished products when they are called to represent their country, preventing a huge country like India from having adequate reserve strength in the national squad when key players are injured or retire. Also, the regional cricket boards depend on the BCCI for hand-outs of funds for infrastructure and grassroots development. The players who are entrenched at the top have strong backing from sports management firms and also can afford the best in personal trainers, physiotherapists and technical consultants, which are well beyond the scope of the average player.Zee Telefilms desire to create sports content
The Essel group has expressed a keen desire to help India develop cricketing talent, as well as provide lucrative sports programming for Zee Telefilms, which lost out on the rights to broadcast all BCCI-sanctioned cricket matches in India until 2011.Essel Group had originally launched Zee Sports
Zee Sports
TEN Action+ is a 24-hour sports channel dedicated to Football. The channel is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises owned Taj Television India which is part of the Essel Group. Ten Action+ is the third channel launched by the network after TEN Sports and TEN Cricket...
earlier with the anticipation of bagging at least some of the BCCI telecast rights in 2006. This was followed by Zee acquiring 50 percent in TEN Sports
TEN Sports
TEN SPORTS is a sports channel, widely broadcast in Asia. Its key programming includes Cricket, Football and sports-entertainment shows viz. WWE. Ten Sports was launched on April 1, 2002, and became the world's premier sports channel for South Asians, reaching over 55 million homes across the Arab...
in November 2006 for Rs. 257 crore (Rs. 2.57 billion). This gave the company a few international cricket rights — West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Cricket played in India generates Rs. 1,000 crore (Rs. 10 billion) in advertising and subscription revenue and Subhash Chandra has been acutely aware of his company missing out on this lucrative cricket pie.
During his battle with BCCI and ESPN Star Sports
ESPN Star Sports
ESPN Star Sports is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and News Corporation...
for the five-year telecast rights in August–September 2004 in the Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court at Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the High Court of India with jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra & Goa, and, the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli...
, Chandra was present every day for the hearings. Despite Zee bidding the highest at $307 million, BCCI and its then president Jagmohan Dalmiya
Jagmohan Dalmiya
Jagmohan Dalmiya, born in Calcutta, India on May 30, 1940, is a well-known Indian cricket administrator. He studied at the Scottish Church College, Calcutta....
denied him the rights.
The pain of denial has been with Chandra since 2000 when the ICC World Cup rights were sold to NewsCorp’s Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) for $550 million despite Zee bidding the highest at $650 million citing Zee's insufficient sports marketing experience.
In August 2005, Zee again emerged as a forerunner with a pitch of over $340 million while ESPN Star Sports, the other principal contender, is believed to have offered around $325 million. BCCI took the stance that Zee was not qualified as a specialist broadcaster and refused to consider Zee’s proposal. The matter expectedly went to court and Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
emerged the beneficiary.
Chandra then tried the political route too and supported Sharad Pawar
Sharad Pawar
Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar , popularly known as SAHEB , is the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
’s candidature as BCCI president against Dalmiya. Pawar emerged victorious but not Chandra. In the last round of bidding in February, last year, it was Nimbus
NEO Cricket
NEO Cricket is a channel dedicated to cricket entertainment. Launched on April 2, 2008. It is a part of Nimbus Communications Ltd and is headquartered in Mumbai, India and broadcasts to 30 countries....
who bagged BCCI’s telecast rights till 2011 for $613 million with Zee trailing at $513 million.
Since there was a Zee-Nimbus alliance before the bidding, media pundits thought Nimbus’ bid was a Zee front. But Nimbus chose to go its own way and launched its own sports network – NEO Sports.
Support for the league
The ICL has received support from some unexpected quarters. There was a fear that lack of access to infrastructure, like the premier cricket stadiums, would limit the success of the operation of the league, but support from various government bodies has boosted the league. Camps will be held at Mayajaal in ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, which is a private resort with good cricket facilities. Indian Railways chief Lalu Prasad has shown his backing by opening all the cricket stadiums controlled by the Indian Railways to the league. Describing the ICL as a “good initiative”, Prasad has issued a statement saying that the BCCI
Board of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered at Mumbai, is the national governing body for all cricket in India. It's not the apex governing body in India. The board was formed in December 1928 as BCCI replaced Calcutta Cricket Club. BCCI is a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu...
and ICL should each come up with a cricket team and play against each other to show who's the best. http://cricket.indiatimes.com/Lalu_to_BCCI__ICL_Compete_on_field/articleshow/2310807.cms The state government of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
has also agreed to rent its cricket grounds, notably Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity...
, to the league.
BCCI Response
The BCCI refused to recognise the ICL as a cricket league, and criticised Kiran More and Kapil Dev for joining the ICL. Kapil Dev's association with ICL was seen by the establishment as a conflict of interest as he was also the chairman of National Cricket AcademyNational Cricket Academy
The National Cricket Academy located in Chinnaswamy Stadium Bangalore, Karnataka in India, established in 2000 is a cricket facility of the Board of Control for Cricket in India for training young cricketers who are identified as having the potential to represent the Indian cricket team...
, a BCCI owned cricket facility. On August 21, 2007 Kapil Dev was sacked from his NCA post. Subhash Chandra had earlier stated that the ICL will go ahead regardless of the BCCI's stance. The International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
gave a statement through its chief executive, Malcolm Speed
Malcolm Speed
Malcolm Walter Speed is an Australian businessman and the former CEO of the International Cricket Council.Before he entered the world of cricket, he was a barrister in Melbourne. He was originally the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Cricket Board from 1997 until in 2001, he took up the...
, that the ICC would not recognize the ICL unless the BCCI chooses to recognise it. The ICC looks at the ICL as an issue to be sorted out by the BCCI.
Faced with the threat of young players joining the ICL, the BCCI jacked up prize money for winners, runners-up and losing semi-finalists across all tournaments. An average domestic cricketer can hope to make around Rs 35,000 per match day from the season of 2007-08: more than double the Rs 16,000 they got in 2005-06. The BCCI has also planned to do away with honorary selectors, who will be paid professionals from September 2008 onwards.
The BCCI started its own international Twenty20 league. The official league, which launched in April 2008, is called the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
Twenty20 cricket. The league model is revolutionary, based on the franchise model of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
in the USA.
ICL takes BCCI to court
In August 2007, the ICL filed a petition against the BCCI in the Delhi High Court accusing the BCCI of threatening and intimidating them and other state organsiations, and asked the court to stop BCCI from interfering with its attempts to sign up players for its tournaments. It also petitioned that the BCCI stop trying to "out-hire" cricket stadiums in India that are owned by the state governments, in anti-competitive attempts to stop the ICL from using them to play matches.On August 27, 2007, the Delhi High Court ruled in favor of the ICL. In its ruling, the Delhi High Court said that players should not suffer in the battle between corporate giants. The court has issued notices to all corporate sponsors, the state cricket associations & the BCCI against terminating valid contracts of players joining the ICL.
The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) of India had asked its Director-General of Investigation to do an initial investigation into the BCCI's action against players who had joined the ICL. The investigation was based on media reports of the BCCI giving an open statement that it will ban players who join ICL. It was also reported in the media that all state associations, under direction from the BCCI, have cancelled contracts with players.
Pressure on Players from Other National Organisations
In considering rejoining the ICL former England wicketkeeper Paul Nixon was said to have put his career in jeopardy because any player that signs up with the ICL, which does not have official status from the International Cricket Council, risks losing their registration.The addition of a new team from Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
in Bangladesh, consisting largely of Bangladesh internationals caused more controversy as the cricket board of that country banned the players for 10 years for joining the 'rebel' ICL. Faced with the departure of so many players the board appealed to other Bangladeshi players to reject the new ICL team, stay loyal to the board and embrace the opportunity to play for their country.
The Downfall of the ICL
The future of ICL has become dark when BCCI allowed ICL players to play international matches.Since then many ICL players have returned to their national team including famous players like Shane Bond(now retired) , Abdul Razzaq.The huge success of IPL is also a reason of the coming down of ICL.
Shortly before the conclusion of the inaugural tournament, the ICL announced its plans for expansion, which include a fifty over tournament in February 2008, and the expansion of the ICL Indian Championship to eight teams for the second tournament, due to be held in September and October 2008.
A similar initiative has been launched in United States by the PayAutoMata group but details have yet to emerge.
In October 2008, the promoters of the ICL, Zee and its parent company Essel Sports Pvt. Ltd, had applied for trademark registration of T20 under Class 28 of the Trade Mark Rules, 2002.
Transparency Issues
Independent analysts have had difficulty gauging the financial viability of the ICL due to the lack of transparency of the league’s operations. Terms of contracts are hidden and advertising revenue from match telecasts — considered to be a major contributor to revenues — have never been disclosed. Because they are unsanctioned by the ICC, the teams do not have access to the best facilities across the whole country or access to the best players, limiting their ability to generate high gate revenues. This lack of transparency leads to questions regarding the overall viability of the ICL’s business model.The end of ICL
The ICL has now come to an end after all its players dropped out.This was because of the offer of amnesty given by BCCI to players choosing to leave the ICL.Broadcasting of ICL
Since the ICL was conducted by Zee Telefilms, the ICL was broadcast in most domains on the Zee network.| Broadcaster | Regional Broadcast Rights |
|---|---|
| Zee Sports Zee Sports TEN Action+ is a 24-hour sports channel dedicated to Football. The channel is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises owned Taj Television India which is part of the Essel Group. Ten Action+ is the third channel launched by the network after TEN Sports and TEN Cricket... |
Global Rights, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... -- Hindi, Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south... & USA |
| Ten Sports TEN Sports TEN SPORTS is a sports channel, widely broadcast in Asia. Its key programming includes Cricket, Football and sports-entertainment shows viz. WWE. Ten Sports was launched on April 1, 2002, and became the world's premier sports channel for South Asians, reaching over 55 million homes across the Arab... |
India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... -- English, Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south... , Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... & Middle East Middle East The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East... |
| BTV Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television , also known by the acronym BTV, is the state-owned Television network in Bangladesh. It started broadcasting as Pakistan Television in what was then East Pakistan on 25 December 1964. It was renamed Bangladesh Television after the independence in 1971. Broadcasts in full... |
Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south... |
| ATN Bangla ATN Bangla ATN Bangla is a Bengali language digital cable television channel. It transmits from its studio in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The channel is transmitted in South Asia, the Middle-east, Europe, and North America. The channel offers a wide variety of programming including news, movies, dramas, talk shows,... |
Bangladesh Bangladesh Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south... |
| Gateway Gateway Television Gateway Television is a Pan-African subscription TV network based in London.In January 2009, GTV announced it had gone into liquidation blaming the current financial and global crisis.... |
North Africa North Africa North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and... |
| Telkom-Malaysia |
Malaysia |
| Astro TVIQ Astro TVIQ Astro TVIQ is an Astro branded channel brought exclusively for Malaysians and Indonesians who own Astro. This channel is free as it is grouped under the Astro Family package... |
Malaysia |
| Fox Sports Fox Sports (Australia) Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD... |
Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
| Zee Music |
UK |
| Zee Smile Zee Smile Zee Smile is an India's first 24 hour comedy television channel that was launched on September 11, 2004. The channel was launched by Zee Network as Smile TV, but on March 28, 2005 as part of Zee Network's revamp, the channel was renamed as Zee Smile.... |
Asia Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population... |
| Zee TV Zee TV Zee TV is an India-based satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which broadcasts various programmes in Hindi and other regional languages of India. Broadcasting is also present in various nations of South Asia, Europe, the Middle East,... |
Africa Africa Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area... |
| Caribbean Media Corporation Caribbean Media Corporation The Caribbean Media Corporation is a Barbados-based centralised content-provider for the various Caribbean media houses in the region. Formed in June 2000, through the merger of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union and the Caribbean News Agency... |
Caribbean British West Indies The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean... |
Broadcasting Ban
In November 2008, the BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i government set a ban on the broadcasting of live matches of the ICL on a the private held Diganta TV channel in the country. This would extend to the ICL World Series featuring the country's national team.
Other private cricket leagues
Most professional cricket around the world is run by the national cricket boards of the full members of the ICC, but there have been several previous attempts to create professional leagues outside the established system. Like the ICL, each of them came into conflict with the establishment:- World Series CricketWorld Series CricketWorld Series Cricket was a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979 and organised by Kerry Packer for his Australian television network, Nine Network. The matches ran in opposition to established international cricket...
was formed by Australian media tycoon Kerry PackerKerry PackerKerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
in the late 1970s, and played a major role in the development of limited overs cricket and commercialisation of the game. - Pro CricketPro CricketPro Cricket was a professional cricket league in the United States. It was operated by American Pro Cricket LLC , a private company independent of the ICC and the USACA. Kalpesh Patel served as Pro Cricket's chairman and commissioner....
League in USA formed by Kalpesh PatelKalpesh PatelKalpesh Ashok Patel is a Kenyan cricketer who played two One Day Internationals for the national side, although he had no success in either.Patel's ODIs are the only List A games he played, but he appeared four times at first-class level...
. It started with eight teams on 2 July 2004 and expired the same year. - Indian Cricket League (USA) formed in 2005 by PayAutoMata Group in the U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stateU.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. - Stanford 20/20Stanford 20/20The Stanford 20/20 Tournament was a cricket tournament in the Caribbean island of Antigua. It was held first in July and August 2006 in the West Indies at the Stanford Cricket Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda and the same place the year after...
formed in 2006 by billionaire Sir Allen Stanford in the West Indies. It has since reconciled with the cricket establishment, gaining recognition by the West Indies Cricket BoardWest Indies Cricket BoardThe West Indies Cricket Board is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in the West Indies...
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