Indian Cricket League (Florida) - ICL (India) News
The first news and information website on Indian Cricket League
The ICL (India) is a private cricket league that runs parallel to the existing cricket league managed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The format of ICL is Twenty20. Indian Cricket League is a service mark of PayAutoMata, Florida. This website,
http://www.indian-cricket-league.com/, (Created on: 03-Apr-2007) is in no way affiliated with or is the property of Zee's ICL (India) or Indian Cricket League (Florida). This site is part of the Cricket Circle information and news network.
Indian Cricket League's inaugural Twenty20 starts November 30
Oct 23, 2007
The inaugural Twenty20 cricket tournament of the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) will start from Nov 30 at Panchkula, Chandigarh, its executive board announced at Chennai.
"The ICL Twenty20 Indian Championship will be held as promised later next month at Chandigarh. We are working hard to deliver a very exciting tournament for the Indian viewers," Kapil Dev, chairman of the executive board, said in a statement after a board meeting.
"I am confident that the public in this country will witness for the first time a fully professionally run and organised extravaganza of cricket," he added.
The tournament will have 20 matches from Nov 30 and the final has been slated for Dec 16 at the Tau Devi Lal stadium in Panchkula.
There will be 15 League matches where all teams play each other once, followed by five classification matches.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which is the parent body of the sport in the country, has opposed the creation of ICL.
Dillon signs for Indian Cricket League
Oct 13, 2007
Former West Indies fast bowler Mervyn Dillon has signed up with the Indian Cricket League (ICL).
The lanky Trinidad and Tobago pacer has thus followed in the lines of Brian Lara, ICL's biggest fetch, and is expected to be in India by November to take up his three-year contract, according to media reports.
"It is understood that the player signed on the dotted line last week and is now the second West Indies player - after Lara - to sign up for the lucrative Twenty20 cricket tournament," the 'Jamaican Gleaner' said.
There are also reports of another former West Indies player from Trinidad and Tobago, Lincoln Roberts, doing likewise.
The hard-hitting cricketer is currently in negotiations with the Essel Group - who owns the league, the report said.
The ICL is also reported to be looking to snap up another two players from the West Indies.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is yet to take a clear stand on its players joining the cash-rich league.
WICB president Julian Hunte had warned regional players to seek legal advice before signing up for the controversial Indian Cricket League, the report said.
"I have heard rumours of players been made substantial offers. Nothing has come to me formally. I only hope that those players who have been made offers, get legal advice and our advice as to how they need to go about this," Hunte said.
New Zealand all-rounder Cairns to play in Indian Cricket League
Oct 02, 2007
Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns is coming out of retirement to play in the breakaway Indian Cricket League, he said Tuesday.
Cairns, 37, who retired from international cricket last year, told the Christchurch Press newspaper he had accepted an offer to play in the inaugural Twenty20 competition, due to start in November.
"It's a lucrative deal," Cairns said. "It's something which has brought me out of retirement and to do that it has to be worth it.
"The competition is also a chance to have one last go playing in front of heaps of people."
Cairns joins former New Zealand internationals Chris Harris, Nathan Astle and Hamish Marshall in the competition, which is due to run for about five weeks beginning Nov. 17.
"I've had mixed emotions over it. It's such a good offer that I thought I will have to train again. I thought I'd finished with that garbage," he said.
"I'd done it for so long and thought 'I can now kick back' but now I have to get serious because I want to acquit myself professionally."
Zee launches ambitious $232mn Indian Cricket League
April 02, 2007
In a move effectively challenging the Indian cricket board's national tournaments, Zee Group Tuesday announced the launch of an ambitious Indian Cricket League (ICL) with a corpus fund of Rs 1 billion ($232.26 million) and a promise to field many international players.
Stung by the announcement and in order to stop speculation, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) quickly issued a statement that its president Sharad Pawar has received a letter, but said no more.
The announcement came as a surprise also because Zee owns the BCCI rights for overseas international cricket. Zee won the five-year rights for $219.15 million.
"A professional league is the need of the hour as is the killer instinct in the players. We will try to do it as early as possible -- maybe in July," said Zee group chairman Subhash Chandra at a press conference here.
Chandra sounded extremely confident of getting the BCCI approval for ICL, whose winner would receive $1 million - the highest prize money ever announced for a cricket tournament in the country.
"It is not in conflict with the BCCI, but is complimentary to it. We have sent a proposal to the BCCI and I don't think they will reject it. I even don't want to assume that BCCI will reject it," he said.
BCCI, which has already called a working committee meeting in Mumbai Saturday to discuss the World Cup debacle, will perhaps have to add another item to its agenda.
The board statement said: "BCCI president Sharad Pawar has received a letter from Mr. Subhash Chandra, Zee Television, seeking permission to start the Indian Cricket League. An appropriate decision in this matter will be taken by the board."
The ambitious league, if allowed by the BCCI, threatens to do what late Australian millionaire Kerry Packer did almost three decades ago when he hired the world's top players for his own World Series Cricket following his fight for television rights with the Australian board. Chandra said that the current Indian team players along with those from other countries would be seen in action in the league. He said the ICL would be an annual feature. All the matches will be telecast on Zee Sports.
Zee also plans to set-up residential academies equipped with state-of-the-art facilities across the country.
Sports medicine would be introduced to ensure top fitness of players and a full-fledged record of their behavioural pattern, diet-plan and game statistics would be maintained. The group will also appoint talent scouts in all 35 states to hunt for young players to play in the league. "We have expertise in talent-search in the entertainment field, we will use that same expertise to unearth cricketing talent in India," Chandra said. He said each team would have a coach, physiotherapist, and psychologist. The league will have a professional media manager, and an ombudsman to resolve issues that may be raised by the public, or even by the players.
"A professional league is the need of the hour as is the killer instinct in the players. Budding talent must be groomed at the grass-roots level and given the experience to play on competitive pitches and not on placid tracks."
Chandra, however, declined to disclose the names of the players likely to take part. "There are a few big names which we don't want to disclose now." He added that other companies are invited to launch their own clubs or teams and can take part in the league. "We would love participation from other companies as well. They are invited to launch their own teams and take part in the league very similar to what we have in the National Football League," he said.
The Indian Cricket League Format
April 02, 2007
The Indian Cricket League will consist of six teams or clubs in the first year and will be increased to 16 over the next three years. To start with, all the matches will be Twenty20 affairs and will be played on home-and-away basis. Gradually, the format of the matches will be changed to 50-over a side. The champion team will get the winner's purse of $1 million. Each team in the league will have two Indian international players registered with the BCCI, four foreign players and the rest young and budding players. The players, who will take part in the ICL, will be contracted with the company and will get a fixed amount every month.
The finer points of ICL:
6 teams or clubs to play in opening year
Talks on with BCCI for gaining access to stadiums
Executive Board of the league under installation
Pool of referees and umpires to be created
Rules committee to form regulations for ICL
Ombudsman to look into grievances of players
League to begin with Twenty20 format and move to ODI format
League to be a joint venture between Essel Group and ILFS Group
Each of the 6 teams to be coached by an ex-India player
Each team would comprise four foreign, two Indian and eight budding players
Each team to have a mentor, media manager, psychologist, physio
Prize money for the winner- USD 1 million
League teams to compete with teams internationally
Number of teams to be increased from 6 to 16 in three years
The official web site of Subash Chandra's Essel Group's ICL is www.IndianCricketLeague.in
For news and information about the twenty20 League, write directly to:
Indian Cricket League, Essel Sports Pvt Ltd,
135 Continental Building, Dr. Annie Besant Road,
Worli, Mumbai 400018.
Email id: response@indiancricketleague.in
I really do not know exactly why the BCCI has shown scant interest in me. Erapalli Prasanna, talking to Rediff.
New Zealand Cricket cannot agree to release our contracted players to participate in the ICL. NZC Chief Executive Justin Vaughan.
If it is true that they have signed up, then losing Yousuf would be the biggest blow to Pakistan cricket. Shafqat Naghmi, PCB's chief operating officer.
This is the cream of the country. Kapil Dev, Chairman of ICL's executive board.
I thought of all the pros and cons... This gives me very good security. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, the young Bengal batsman who signed up.
Yes, it will do better than BCCI
It will have a supportive role to BCCI 
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The official web site of Subash Chandra's Essel Group's ICL is 
I really do not know exactly why the BCCI has shown scant interest in me.
