Indian Cricket League Will Get Bigger, Better, Says Legendary All-Rounder Kapil Dev

The Indian Cricket League (ICL) will soon come out with more names on its side and the teams for the league tournament starting November, head of ICL executive board Kapil Dev said.

“Our objective is more cricket; better cricket. Everything will be transparent. Even the selection process will be telecast live on television,” Kapil told reporters at the ICL training camp in Chennai.

“There will be six foreign players in each of the six teams playing the league”, he said.

To a query if the ICL was a haven for retired players, Kapil said, “We have players from 17 years of age. Very soon we will come out with some names. Wait and see which side (of the age) they are on. In fact, these players are the true professionals in Indian cricket.”

On whether ICL faced problems not having grounds to play its matches, the World Cup winning captain retorted, “The BCCI could have only 10 or 12 grounds in more than 70 years. This is only our first year.”

“As for the matches, we can play even here (Champ Sports Village, where the ICL camp is being held).” He added that the ICL would think of having its own grounds.

Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra reiterated that ICL has nothing to do with the telecast rights of BCCI matches and the idea of the league was conceived a couple of years before the Zee group launched its sports channel.

“In any country, domestic sports are bigger than international ones. ICL enjoys unprecedented support from people in the country, abroad and the media,” he said.

On Rohan Gavaskar joining ICL, Chandra said, “Rohan is one among the 70 players who have joined us. The real heroes will emerge as the tournament starts.”

Earlier, Kapil said the 20-20 form of cricket has arrived with Tuesday’s opening match between South Africa and West Indies.

“Getting more than 200 runs in 20 overs! That is what people want to watch,” he said.

On whether the ICL league format, like 20-20, would also be in favour of batsmen, Kapil said, “Cricket has always been a batsman’s game.”

Chandra later added, “The public are our (ICL’s) customers and we will keep them happy.”