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Inzamam, Yousuf head ICL roster
Days of fervent speculation came to an end today with the Indian Cricket League announcing its roster of players, which included Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf and an assortment of Indians - former interationals, domestic veterans and greenhorns. However, the organisers failed to shed any light on the details of the tournament.
Prominent in the list 50 released at the press conference were Dinesh Mongia, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Deep Dasgupta, JP Yadav, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and T Kumaran, all former Indian cricketers. And apart from Inzamam and Yousuf, the ICL announced the names of Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat from Pakistan, who have signed on with Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje of South Africa.
However, the organisers could not yet reveal where or when the proposed 40-day Twenty20 tournament would take place. It is believed that the tournament will be held in October. However, at the same time Australia will be in India to play a series of seven ODIs. Soon after that Pakistan tour India, another marquee series, while India tour Australia straight after. The organisers do not have a window in which to stage this tournament, without it clashing with the Indian team's itinerary, and perhaps that explained why they could not come up with dates.
Kapil Dev, the chairman of the executive board of the ICL, pointed to the assembled group of cricketers, calling them "the cream of talent" in the country, as one-by-one, the 44 cricketers from domestic cricket walked up and took their places on a podium alongside the dais where officials of the ICL were seated.
The most severely hit association was Hyderabad with eight of its players joining the ICL. Bengal and Punjab have also had their Ranji teams eroded, with the likes of Deep Dasgupta, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Subhomoy Das, Subhojit Paul and Shibsagar Singh from Bengal, and Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Ishan Malhotra from Punjab. Railways and Uttar Pradesh were two other teams also badly hit.
The ICL organisers were also tightlipped about the kind of money people were being offered. They refused to either confirm or deny the kind of numbers doing the rounds in the media. It is speculated that players from Indian domestic cricket - not international stars like Inzamam and Yousuf - were being paid in the region of Rs 30 lakh ($72,600) a year.
When it was put to Kapil that the contract period of ICL was three years, and that it was likely that players who signed on with ICL would lose their regular jobs - most players are employed to represent their companies in leagues and tournaments conducted under the auspices of the BCCI and its affiliates, and will be unable to do so if a ban were imposed - he responded, "Can you tell me what will happen to your job after two years?" Kapil shot back. "As long as they keep on playing well, they will do well. These are professional people who have to make their own lives."
Kapil was seated alongside the other officials of the ICL - Himanshu Mody, the project head of ICL, Sandeep Patil, Kiran More, EAS Prasanna, Bharat Reddy, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Madan Lal, Rajesh Chauhan and Pranab Roy.
Kapil was at his emotional best, exhorting his players to do well, and congratulating them on showing the bravery they had in joining the ICL. "I'd like to take everyone to where we started some months ago. At that time people asked, 'Where will you get cricketers from?' This is the cream of the country," he said, pointing to the group of 44 Indian cricketers. "The courage these people have showed, even I didn't have at that age. We need people like this who want to make their own decisions. They take pride to play for their country, not being pushed by someone or threatened by someone. What we need is to entertain the people in this country. I will back you till the last day I live."
In their turn the players who had joined the ICL spoke of their reasons for doing so. "I thought of all the pros and cons. Playing domestic cricket does not give me a chance to play against international stars," said Abhishek Jhunjhunwala. "This gives me very good security."
Mongia, who is believed to be one of the big-ticket signings, said, "My clear thought is, as a cricketer I want to play cricket. I play club cricket in Chandigarh, in Madras I play in corporate tournaments, I play Ranji Trophy for Punjab, and league cricket in England. Here again I get a chance to play with youngsters who are good, and foreign players."
Interestingly, Mody, the head of the initiative, claimed he knew nothing of the circumstances surrounding Boje, after announcing his signing. Boje had withdrawn from South Africa's last tour of India, with the Delhi police wanting to question him regarding matchfixing allegations surrounding an existing case in the Hansie Cronje affair from years ago. "I suppose Boje has taken all that into consideration when signing the contract," he said. "He has signed with us and that's all I know. I'm not aware of these allegations of betting or whatever it is you're speaking of."
International players
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Farhat, Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje
Indian players
Ambati Rayudu, Syed Abbas Ali Khan, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Abhishek T, Alfred Absolem, Ali Murtaza, Avinash Yadav, Deep Dasgupta, V Devendran, Dheeraj Jadhav, Dinesh Mongia, Hemanth Kumar, Ibrahim Khaleel, Inder Shekar Reddy, Ishan Malhotra, J Hariesh, Jai Prakash Yadav, Kaushik Reddy, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manish Sharma, Mohnish Mishra, Puskaraj Mohan Joshi, R Satish, Rajesh Sharma, Ranjit Khirid, Raviraj Patil, Reetinder Sodhi, Robin Morris, Sachin Dholpure, Sarabjit Singh, Syed Akhlakh Ahmed, Shalabh Srivastava, Shashank Nag, Shibsagar Singh, Shreyas Khanolkar, Subhojit Paul, Subhomoy Das, Sumit Kalia, Dakshinamoorthy Kumaran, T Surendra, Thirunavukarasu Kumaran, G Vignesh, D Vinay Kumar, Yashpal Singh


Allrounder denies ICL offer was the reason
Abdul Razzaq quits international cricket
Abdul Razzaq, the Pakistan allrounder, has announced his retirement from international cricket in protest against his omission from the Twenty20 World Championship squad.
Razzaq told Geo TV he was "mentally upset" by the selectors' decision not to pick him and suggested the decision was based on factors outside cricket. "They used form and fitness as an excuse," he said. "I believe the selectors want to drop me from Test and ODI cricket as well and so, as a protest, I am quitting international cricket."
As with many before him, however, Razzaq left the door open for a possible return. "There can be reconciliation but the board has to listen to the players' grievances. Why is the board acting like this with players, trying to get rid of all the seniors?"
Razzaq's future has been the subject of frenzied speculation since his omission from the 15-man squad two weeks ago. He was publicly scathing of the PCB in a TV interview the day after he was dropped and has since delayed signing a central contract with the board.
He has also been pondering over an offer to play in the Indian Cricket League (ICL), though he was quick to stress that it had little to do with his decision. "The ICL has nothing to do with it. I have taken this decision only because of my being dropped."
He added that reports he had already signed up with the league were not correct. "I have an offer from them but I have not confirmed it yet. I will only decide in the next few days."
Salahuddin Ahmed, the chief selector, dismissed Razzaq's claims that the selectors were trying to elbow him out of international cricket. "There is no victimisation. Our selection for the Twenty20 was purely on merit and the best team was picked," he told Cricinfo. "Razzaq's omission certainly does not mean the end of his international career. I hope he reconsiders his decision because he still has a future with Pakistan."
Once considered among the finest allrounders in the game, Razzaq's career has failed to live up to expectations in recent years. His performances over the last couple of years, in particular, have been patchy. From his last 15 ODIs, he averages 17.30 with the bat and a highest score of 38. His once-bristling fast-medium seam bowling has lost some of its bite and in the same period he has taken only 12 wickets.
Three fifties and 38 wickets in his last 15 Tests suggest the malaise isn't restricted to just limited-overs cricket, though injuries have hardly helped the process. He missed the Test series against South Africa late last year and the World Cup subsequently. In 2005, he also missed the home series against England with an elbow injury.
Razzaq's decision comes in the background of more reports that at least four other Pakistan players, including Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf, are set to sign on with the ICL.


Reiterates ICL recruits will not be selected
PCB awaits confirmation from players on ICL
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a cautious initial response to the news that four of its leading players had signed up with the Indian Cricket League (ICL), saying that they would like to confirm the reports with the players before proceeding with any action.
The ICL announced earlier today that Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat had signed contracts with them, putting an end to weeks of speculation.
The board has reiterated that any contracted player joining the ICL would thereafter not be considered for selection for Pakistan. Of the four, only Farhat had signed a central contract, though he has, on his own request, been released from it. Yousuf and Razzaq had been offered contracts but hadn't signed them, reportedly in protest against their omission from the Twenty20 World Championship squad. Inzamam was not included in the list of centrally-contracted players.
But Shafqat Naghmi, the board's chief operating officer, told Cricinfo no action would be taken until and unless the players confirm the reports themselves. "It wouldn't be fair to act without confirmation from the players. Once that has happened, action will be taken."
Naghmi, however, stopped short of saying bans would be imposed on the players, as is the board's policy. "We are very clear on what our policy is, but for any ban, the decision has to be approved by the ad-hoc committee."
How much the decision of the four will hurt Pakistan is also not yet clear. Farhat has been out of favour in shorter formats of the game, but it is thought he was still in the running as a Test opener. Razzaq has already announced his retirement from international cricket and though Salahuddin Ahmed, the chief selector, insisted he is still part of Pakistan's plans, other officials privately concede the future may not be so bright.
Inzamam has already retired from ODI cricket, though he insists he still wants to play Tests for Pakistan. But having missed out on a central contract, his immediate future was also not rosy.
As Naghmi acknowledged, however, in a statement with more meaning than is immediately apparent, the loss of one player could be the most significant. "If it is true that they have signed up, then losing Yousuf would be the biggest blow to Pakistan cricket."



Sad News
wot a Superb All Rounder leaves Cricket of Pakistan
Great Loss