Indian Cricket League

Indian cricket league (ICL) was always considered inferior to the Indian premier league(IPL). Not many noticed it while it was functioning and no one shed a tear or wrote a eulogy for it when it came to an abrupt end. But I do miss it and I want to rise from the dead like a phoenix.

Indian cricket league may never be an extravaganza ala the IPL but it has its own merits. Kapil dev is an honest man and one could see it in the way the Indian cricket league was conducted. There were no late night parties, match fixing was unheard of, strategic breaks weren’t needed nor was there an overdose of cricket just to please the corporate honchos. The stupid 4 foreign players rule didn’t exist. I am all for the Indian players getting a chance but excellence should not be sacrificed at the altar of being politically correct. If you really want to give the Indian players exposure send our India A team to other countries and make them play more test matches. Playing in the IPL won’t do them much good.

The Indian cricket league also gave players from other countries especially those from the associate nations a chance to showcase their talent. We haven’t seen even one player from Bangladesh playing in the IPL but the Indian cricket league had a team exclusively for them (Dhaka warriors). Pakistan also had a team for themselves. Indian cricket league had enough players from Sri Lanka and New Zealand to create separate teams for them if it were in existence today. Players from countries like Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland could also get valuable experience playing in India which will definitely help them.

The Indian cricket league is currently in debt and is not able to pay its employees. I don’t know how but the Indian cricket league should be brought back to its feet so that we can witness some quality cricket again.