Gotham Cronie
27th August 2007, 23:17
A former Pakistan cricket team captain has spoken out against comparing the proposed Indian Cricket League (ICL) to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket held between 1977 and 1979 in Australia.
Speaking to Gulf News from London, Asif Iqbal, the former Pakistan captain said: “The ICL should never be compared to the Kerry Packer series. The Packer World Series was a cricket revolution. It changed the face of cricket and we are even now reaping the rewards of that fantastic revolution.”
Iqbal, along with Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Mushtaq Mohammad, Majid Khan, Haroon Rashid, Sarfraz Nawaz and Taslim Arif from Pakistan had played for the Rest of the World team in the Packer series.
“The ICL should come out with a clear plan and not just go on signing up players. They should reveal their full programme and announce what they are going to do. Initially, they said they will organise a Twenty20 tournament, now they have said they may stage even three-day matches. Right now they are an Indian Confused League,” he said.
When asked whether Pakistan cricket will be affected by the loss of some of its top players to the ICL, Asif said: “No cricket board should ban a player if he is eligible and available to play for his country. The ICL may not be an official cricket series but the players will be playing cricket and no cricketer should be banned for having played the game.”
According to him, the ICL is the result of a battle between a cricket board and a television channel. “ICL is nothing but the product of a battle between the BCCI and Zee television. The cricket boards of other countries should not be affected by it and go on to ban its players who may play in the ICL.”Asif feels that cricket boards should adopt the same policy they follow while releasing their players to represent English County teams.
“Most cricket boards allow their players to play for English County teams. The boards should take a similar stance if some of their players opt to play for ICL,” he concluded.
http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Cricket/10149206.html
Speaking to Gulf News from London, Asif Iqbal, the former Pakistan captain said: “The ICL should never be compared to the Kerry Packer series. The Packer World Series was a cricket revolution. It changed the face of cricket and we are even now reaping the rewards of that fantastic revolution.”
Iqbal, along with Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Mushtaq Mohammad, Majid Khan, Haroon Rashid, Sarfraz Nawaz and Taslim Arif from Pakistan had played for the Rest of the World team in the Packer series.
“The ICL should come out with a clear plan and not just go on signing up players. They should reveal their full programme and announce what they are going to do. Initially, they said they will organise a Twenty20 tournament, now they have said they may stage even three-day matches. Right now they are an Indian Confused League,” he said.
When asked whether Pakistan cricket will be affected by the loss of some of its top players to the ICL, Asif said: “No cricket board should ban a player if he is eligible and available to play for his country. The ICL may not be an official cricket series but the players will be playing cricket and no cricketer should be banned for having played the game.”
According to him, the ICL is the result of a battle between a cricket board and a television channel. “ICL is nothing but the product of a battle between the BCCI and Zee television. The cricket boards of other countries should not be affected by it and go on to ban its players who may play in the ICL.”Asif feels that cricket boards should adopt the same policy they follow while releasing their players to represent English County teams.
“Most cricket boards allow their players to play for English County teams. The boards should take a similar stance if some of their players opt to play for ICL,” he concluded.
http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Cricket/10149206.html