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All eyes on ICL
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Hyderabad is gearing up to host the Indian Cricket League matches
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Lahore Badshah Former Pakistani captain Inzamam-ul-Haq
It will be cricket with a difference for the Hyderabadis! First, the Indian Cricket League’s second edition unfolds in the City on March 15 at the floodlit Lal Bahadur Stadium which will host 12 league matches and one semi-final.
The cricket crazy fans of the twin citiescould not have asked for a perfect warm-up event ahead of the high-profile Indian Premier League, the official version launched by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to counter the ICL, which will see seven matches scheduled at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal) in April.
If the reception to the Lahore Badshahs, led by former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, is any indication, then the organisers cannot be faulted to be optimistic. As the word spread around about the arrival of Badshahs at the Hyderabad airport the other day, the crowds hovering around the stars grew in numbers in no time. And when the action begins in the Twenty-20 format under lights, the fans could easily get a fair inkling of what is in store for the IPL in April. It is not that the ICL is devoid of any big stars – the only big hurdle was not being recognised by the BCCI and the subsequent ban imposed on those in the ICL from playing in even first-class cricket in India and Pakistan, to be more specific.
But the fans can still enjoy seeing the likes of Australians Michael Bevan, Jason Gillespie, Stuart Law, Mathew Elliott, Damien Martyn, the ageing but determined Inzamam, New Zealanders Craig McMillan, Adam Parore, Shane Bond, West Indians the great Brian Lara, fast bowler Tino Best and Wavell Hinds, South African Lance Klusener, besides a host of India’s big names including local hero Ambati Rayudu.
No wonder, the aura and the glamour seen with the IPL, thanks to the high-profile auction show in Mumbai may have dented the hopes of the organisers. But, the fact that they are going ahead with an eight team format – with Lahore Badshahs and Ahmedabad Rockets – joining the six from the first edition and the event being played at three different centres should do a world of good. in to creating the much-needed hype. Former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq says that be it IPL or ICL, players are benefiting a lot. “There were recent instances when someone like Mohd Zahid, whom Brian Lara rated as the fastest he had ever faced, faded away after a brief stint in international cricket due to a serious injury. No one knows how he is managing," Saqlain pointed out.
Inzamam argues that the official cricket Boards should lift the ban imposed on cricketers playing in the ICL. “When IPL is being conducted on the same lines and the cricketers enjoy all privileges, why should the ICL players be denied most of them," he questions.
V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
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