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Zee announces Indian Cricket League

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: In a move reminiscent of Australian Kerry Packer's breakaway cricket series in the late 1970s, Zee Telefilms on Tuesday announced an ambitious and lucrative Indian Cricket League, offering the winner $1 million.

Addressing media persons here, Essel Group Chairman, Subhash Chandra, said in the inaugural season, six teams or clubs would take part in the league to be played on the Twenty20 format. Over the next three years, the number of participating teams would go up to 16 with each team having four international players, two India players and eight budding talents. The league is expected to begin this October. The format is likely to move to the ODI format.

Complementary

Starting with a corpus fund of Rs.100 crores, the league "is not in conflict with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), but is complementary to it," Mr. Chandra said. Curiously, the announcement came on the opening day of the BCCI's zonal Twenty20 league being played concurrently in all five zones.

To be coached by an ex-India player, each team in the Indian Cricket League will have a mentor, a physiotherapist, psychologist and a media manager.

"We feel that despite cricket being a passion, a religion in this country and despite it having great commercial players, BCCI has only six `A' grade players signed up. Therefore, there is need for some united effort to create a talent pool. And this will be done by a strategy of discovery, diligence and display," Mr. Chandra said.

Meanwhile, the Board secretary Niranjan Shah confirmed that the BCCI President, Sharad Pawar, had received a letter from Zee Television seeking permission to start the league. "An appropriate decision in this matter will be taken by the Board," Mr. Shah said in a press release.

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