Time to recognize ICL!!!

In cricket, rivalries have always provided some exciting moments to the cricket fans: The fans got to see some heated arguments between players, sledging, some great knocks, and great finishes to matches that have been cliff hangers. But unfortunately, the recent rivalry in the list has brought only disgust and dissidence. I am speaking about the rivalry between the ICL (Indian Cricketing League) and the IPL (Indian Premier League).

Where it started:
In 2007, a businessman called Subhash Chandra sought the help of the former Indian allrounder Kapil dev to launch a cricket league. The aim of this cricket league was to pick young and upcoming talent and to promote cricket. Unfortunately, the BCCI, fearing loss of revenue, went against ICL and asked the ICC not to recognize ICL. The BCCI even forced cricketing boards of South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan to ban players who chose to join ICL.
However, Kapil and Subhash resisted all obstacles and launched the ICL.

A Perfect Copycat That Humbled the Original:
To counter ICL, the BCCI launched its own league called IPL (Indian Premier League). The irony was that the IPL, more or less, was based on the same format of ICL. Thanks to the BCCI’s financial power, cricketing boards of other countries like Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand were forced to send their cricketers to participate in the IPL. Some of the international players even retired early to play solely in the IPL. Thanks to great branding, fabulous marketing strategies, BCCI’s influence on the ICC, and the participation of renowned stars like Dhoni, Sehwag, Sachin, Hayden, Hussey, Symonds, Gilchrist , Jayasuriya, Pollock, Afridi and many others, the IPL became an inevitable hit, thus clearly overshadowing and nearly destroying the ICL before it even began. The ICL did launch it’s league a few months after the IPL, but the tournament went quietly with decent crowds. The reason being BCCI’s refusal to provide their stadiums to ICL for their matches. ICL had to depend solely upon real cricket fans for their survival.


Who is the loser?
Undoubtedly Cricket is the loser. Although, the IPL was a hit, there were many drawbacks that evolved due to the tournament. The first one was that the already-cramped international cricket calendar had to allot a window of two months for IPL and not schedule any other tournaments during that period. The next big worry was that the players started prioritizing their IPL commitments and even went to the extent of ignoring their national team commitments. A typical case, where Money won, was when SriLanka tried to forfeit their tour of England just because the tour clashed with the IPL. It was a totally disgracing situation.

Why ICL should be recognized?
Simple, any sport survives only when there is good quality of entertainment. Good quality comes only with good competition. The ICL boasts of good and genuine talent like Shane Bond, Imran Nazir, Abdur Razzaq, Reetinder Singh Sodi, and other budding talent. If the ICC recognizes the ICL, then the world of cricket will get to see some great cricketing stars. Who knows, we may see another Brian Lara, or Sachin, or perhaps another Hadlee, Kapil, or Imran?
The BCCI domination must stop now. Cricket is not a business, it is a sport. Nobody or no board can deny sportspeople their rights. Because of BCCI’s vanity, the world is not seeing a great bowler like SHANE BOND, Pakistan is losing out precious players like Imran Nazir and Abdul Razzaq. Even India may lose few talented youngsters. It is high time that Justice is served. Please recognize ICL. After all, if IPL can exist inspite of all the trouble that it has caused, why not ICL?
Not long ago, a man called Kerry Packer changed the way cricket was played. He changed the then-boring game into a colorful and exciting event, thanks to great innovative ideas. Subhash Chandra is no Kerry Packer, but why not give him a chance?
Only time will tell!