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It’s the tale of two leagues now in India. One that has got off to a rather inauspicious start at back-of-beyond Panchkula in north India, that too under the shadows of a legal notice of the district administration, and then the ‘real thing’ which will kick-off with much fanfare on April 18.
Yes, we are referring to the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) bankrolled by Zee Television and the official one, or the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is supported by a consortium of India’s rich and famous.
Clearly, it’s been a mismatched battle so far, with many feeling it’s a matter of time before the ICL sponsors go on the blink.
It was the promoters of the ICL who drew first blood early last year with their announcement of starting a Twenty20 league with the who’s who of world cricket — something which they would telecast on their own.
The Indian board, which was apparently sleeping on such an idea for a long while, woke up late. But once they did, it was a classic case of the empire striking back.
Their launch was in stark contrast to the rag-tag assembly line of first-class cricketers and some stars of the 1980s paraded by the ICL chairman Kapil Dev. Out there were the representatives of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and several boards, with the Big Three of Indian cricket — Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid in tow.
Word was out that there was ‘nothing official’ about this ICL – and gradually all the boards were unanimous in their stance that anybody playing in the rebel league would be barred from their sanctioned tournaments and, of course, international cricket.
Hence, the best talents of world cricket today stands divided into two categories — where both set of cricketers are pursuing the moolah to secure their financial future but one group is less equal than others.
Hence, you have got somebody like Shane Bond virtually becoming ineligible for selection for his national team, or a precocious talent like Ambati Rayudu who cannot even qualify for his state team Hyderabad.
The only wrong that cricketers in the ICL may have committed was jumping on the bandwagon that came their way first.
However, now that the dust has settled and the backlash from the establishment has been heard loud and clear, can we have room for both the leagues?
It could, at least, save the careers of a sizeable number of young cricketers and several of those who still have a few years of international cricket left in them. Any takers?
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