ICC to ensure national duty overrides IPL |
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Sunday March 23, 01:14 AM
New Delhi, March 22: With a rash of international cricket coming up and the Indian Premier League slated to take off slap in the middle of the crowded schedule, the International Cricket Council is seeking to protect its international segment insulated from the Indian Twenty20 tournament.
According to sources, the ICC has drawn up a contract which it is seeking to ink along with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to ensure that the IPL does not draw away players from their international commitments, and that the Indian T20 league not allow players to participate unless they have a clearance from their home board to do so.
A clause in the contract includes those who have recently retired and are being asked to observe a "cooling off" period of two years.
What has prompted such fears is the upcoming Australian tour of the West Indies, which partially clashes with the IPL’s inaugural run from April 18 to June 1. The Windies cricket board is worried at the prospect of losing Chris Gayle, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan for the Australia series as they have also signed up for the IPL.
Australia visit the Caribbean in May and June and the WICB fears that the three may not be available for the first two Test matches that coincide with the IPL tournament, though board chief executive Donald Peters was quoted as saying that they would be available for the full series.
At its recent executive board meeting in Dubai, the ICC did not amend its Future Tours Programme to include the IPL window. It in fact went a step further by allowing boards to veto its players’ participation in the IPL.
"No request has been made by the IPL or BCCI to adjust the FTP to accommodate IPL matches," the ICC said in a statement after the Dubai session. "The ICC will monitor the IPL’s progress over the next few years and work with the BCCI to ensure that it works in harmony with international cricket."
Yet, given the huge disparity in pay between national duty and six weeks of work in the IPL, there are fears that players could take the retirement route into the Indian T20 league.
Also likely is a possible conflict of dates for Sri Lanka, who have agreed to step into the void created by Australia’s withdrawal from a scheduled tour of Pakistan later this month.
The Lankans are to play five one-day internationals in Pakistan shortly after a visit by Bangladesh to help out the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that thanks to the Australian pullout, concerns are now being raised over the 2008 ICC Champions Trophy, which is also to be held in Pakistan from September 11 to 28 at three cities — Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
The ICC is keeping its options open. "As it stands, the event will go ahead as planned from September 11 to 28 in three venues across the country, which will be finalised in due course," it said.
Sri Lanka has already been nominated as a stand-bye venue in the event of the ICC’s independent security assessment going against hosting the tournament in Pakistan. Also on Saturday, the ICC released the Champions Trophy schedule with Group A teams Pakistan meeting 2006 runners-up the West Indies in the opener at Lahore on September 11.
India, also in Group A, open against defending champions Australia also at Lahore two days later.
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