Kapil wants an England-based team for ICL

Makes an impassioned appeal to the ECB over allowing players into the league

LONDON: The English Cricket Board has had a tough time reconciling itself with the reality of cricket’s new world order, as manifested in the ICL and IPL.

While the players connected to cricket Australia are reaping financial rewards, the ECB has distanced itself from the tournaments in India to the extent that players such as Kevin Pietersen have felt the need to publicly pronounce their support of the board, and intention to avoid the new tournaments. Despite all this, Kapil Dev of the ICL has made no bones of the fact that he hopes the situation will thaw in the very near future.

Kapil’s ambitions stretch further than seeing English players in the ICL. “I would love to have a London team playing, or Birmingham or another city team,” the World Cup-winning captain told BBC Sport on Thursday.

“If I get a chance, if I have the money, I will definitely make one team from London or Birmingham. Give me the money and sponsor and I will do it.” Indeed, his plans reach beyond England’s shores.

“I would also love to see a team from South Africa, West Indies and Australia,” he said. The ECB’s chief executive Malcolm Speed is sounding a more reconciliatory note than before, but this is only as a small step down from flat refusal.

“About 10 days ago, lawyers acting on behalf of the ICL contacted the ICC and sought recognition. We are awaiting advice from our lawyers on the issue and I expect within the next week or so we’ll respond to the ICL lawyers. The question has never been asked whether the ICC will recognise the ICL one way or another. It’s a fairly complicated legal issue.”

Kapil is much more clear as to his position. “I just want to ask the ECB one simple thing - am I doing something wrong by trying to promote cricket around the world?” he asked.

Addressing the problem of the tournament clashing with players’ national commitments, he was quick to reassure the national boards. “We always say anybody picked for ICL must first represent their country and come to play for us when they are free,” he said.

“We don’t want to spoil any country’s cricket. The aim of ICL is to give exposure to the young boys and people who have played enough cricket, like Brian Lara or Inzamam-ul-Haq. If they share their time with the young upcoming guys, they can teach these young cricketers. That’s what our aim is and if we give the spectators thrilling cricket, everyone benefits from that.”

In the spirit of fairness, Kapil even sounded out in favour of players joining his tournament’s rival, the BCCI-backed IPL. “If they are free, they should go and play in the IPL,” he said.

“I would say ‘Please come and play and work out a better life. You must come and play in our country’. People from all around the world are coming to play in England, is that wrong? When we say we are coming to play in England, you people are happy,” was his final plea to the ECB.