Super Kings or Super Stars, Indians or Champs, Daredevils or Giants, Riders or Tigers?

A few days ago I did a post where I mentioned that the Indian Premier League teams were clones of the International teams.

Just before the IPL got underway, the "rebel" Indian Cricket League had held the Edelweiss 20s Challenge involving 8 teams, the same number taking part in the ongoing IPL tournament. Similar to the IPL teams, the ICL ones were also based on Indian cities.

Here I look at whether the IPL city teams are clones of the ICL ones or not.

IPL Team: Mumbai Indians, ICL Team: Mumbai Champs
Both teams are led by the two greatest batsmen of this era - Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara respectively. While Sachin has been kept on the sidelines due to a groin injury, Brian Lara missed in the entire ICL tournament due to injury. Both are coached by Indians - Lalchand Rajput and Sandeep Patil respectively. The Champs hardly won anything ending as the 6th ranked team in the ICL, while the Indians have lost 4 matches in a row before winning a couple. They are also in 6th place currently.

Cloning Factor: Identical Twins. The kind that wear the same clothes.


IPL Team: Chennai Super Kings, ICL Team: Chennai Superstars
One is led by a young dynamic Indian stumper, MS Dhoni, while the other an old retired Aussie batsman, Stuart Law. Both are coached by former Australian internationals - Keppler Wessels and Micheal Bevan respectively, and both rely on Aussie power for the runs - Hayden & Hussey and Law & Harvey. Both teams are one of the stronger sides in their respective competitions - the Superstars lost in the semis, while the Super Kings are well on there way there.

Cloning Factor: Twins but not Identical. Try and dress differently.


IPL Team: Delhi Daredevils, ICL Team: Delhi Giants
Both are captained by opening batsmen, though very different in style - Sehwag and Atapattu respectively. One is coached by Greg Shipperd, a domestic Aussie coach, while the other by a former Indian international, Madan Lal. The Daredevils are one of the strongest sides in their competition, while the Giants were one of the weaker ones. One attacks with McGrath and the other with Shane Bond.

Cloning Factor: No Relation. Too different. Can't even be friends.


IPL Team: Kolkata Knight Riders, ICL Team: Kolkata Tigers
One is captained by one of India's best captains, Saurav Ganguly, and the other by one who was in and out of his international team, Craig McMillian. One is coached by one of the world's best coaches, John Buchanan, and the other by Daryll Cullinan, who has no prior coaching experience. While KKR is 5th in the points table and could go through to the semis, the Tigers were the 4th team into the semis.

Cloning Factor: Friends. Share a little in common, haven't met in years.


IPL Team: Deccan Chargers, ICL Team: Hyderabad Heroes
One is captained by an established Indian international, VVS Laxman, and the other by an allrounder, Chris Harris. Both are poles apart as far as cricket is concerned - one is a pure batsman who is a turtle on the field, and the other a lower order batsman, a lep spinning medium pace, and a livewire on the field. One is coached by Robin Singh, fielding coach of India, and the other by Steve Rixon, a former international coach. Both have Pakistani allround power - one with Afridi and the other with Razzak. One is lowest placed side in its competition, and the other won theirs.

Cloning Factor: Divorced cause there was nothing in common apart from erratic Pakistani behaviour.


IPL Team: Kings XI Punjab, ICL Team: Chandigarh Lions
Lions are Kings aren't they? One is a Mohali team and the other a Chandigarh one but both Punjabi. Punjabis are Lion Kings! One is captained by a hard hitting batsman, Yuvraj Singh, and the other by a Kiwi allrounder, Chris Cairns. Both can hit a lot of big sixes though. One is coached by a former international player and coach, Tom Moody, and the other by Balwandar Sadhu, unheard of. the Kings XI are placed 2nd in the points table while the Lions ended 7th.

Cloning Factor: Friends with the same names, but nothing else in common.

The IPL has teams from Bangalore and Jaipur, which the ICL did not. They instead had a team from Ahmedabad and an all Pakistani one from Lahore.

Those are the similarities, or lack of, of the teams in the two leagues. But what is the relationship between the IPL and the ICL?

The ICL is the original, while the IPL is the successful cloning experiment of very smart scientists. One has been termed an illegal resident by the authorities and is fighting for official legal status, much like a step son disowned by the evil mother. One considers the other to be a rival that has no right to exist while in reality it is a business partner promoting India. They even have similar names and could even have a fruitful long term relationship but the concerned parties are refusing to the marriage. They remain separated and often communicate through different media channels, but it may be better for both to go out on a date and figure out how they can be together.

Where it all began

Since the Indian Premier League got underway I have read a number of comments made by English county chiefs and other English men who matter in their world of cricket about how it was they who invented cricket and then 20-20 cricket; that they have fallen behind in terms of progress of the 20-20 game; and that they need to do something to counter the IPL.

"I think the challenge is to respond to the IPL. We invented this game, it's our game and we should be leading." - This was what Rob Bransgrove, the Chairman of Hampshire, had to say to Paul Kelso of the Guardian. Read the full piece here.

"Considering that we invented Twenty20, they [India] should not have got there first. It is important that we act quickly." - this is what The Professional Cricketers' Association's new chief executive, Sean Morris, had to say when asked about the IPL.

These are examples of the kind of comments doing the rounds. I'm sure you all are aware of the talk of the EPL and Allen Stanford's involvement in it, so I'm not going to delve into that.

What I am going to delve into is what took place in Leicester, England in September 2005 - It was the International 20-20 Club Championship.

This was an idea that originated from Leicestershire with the backing of some Asian investors interested in cricket. The idea was to hold a 20-20 championship between the domestic 20-20 champions from around the world.

At that time (2005) only Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and South Africa had followed England and embraced 20-20 cricket as a part of their domestic seasons. Hence invitations were sent out to the 20-20 champions of these countries to take part in an international league.

In September 2005, Faisalabad Wolves (Pak), Chilaw Marians (SL), and Nashua Titans (SA) made their way down to Leicestershire where they were joined by the English champions, Somerset.

It was then and there that the first seeds of a domestic 20-20 tournament involving international and domestic stars were sown. And it was by the same men who invented the game of cricket and its 20-20 form.

Since the championship was Leicestershire's idea, a team from Leicestershire was also included along with the four 20-20 champions. Plus, to make the number of sides even, a "PCA Masters All Stars" was invited to take part.

The PCA Masters squad comprised of former England internationals, Domestic English players, and a few international cricketers. The likes of Phil Defraites, Martin McCague, and Chris Schofield (all Eng) were joined by the likes of Chris Gayle (WI), Javagal Srinath (Ind), and Craig Spearman (NZ).

And it was there and then that the first seeds of a 20-20 cricket team comprising of cricketers from different countries were sown. And it was by the same men who invented the game of cricket and its 20-20 form.

The Indians took the ideas from the English, put in a few millions into it, added some glits and glamour, and brought the ICLs and the IPLs to the world of cricket.

The English have nothing to complain about - they created the monster and they should have known that the slightest indication of success of such a format would result in the Indians embracing it in a big way. After all that is where the money in cricket is.

Thats all folks.

Links worth a look at:

The first news item announcing the International 20-20 Club Championship.
An article on implications of such a tournament.
The PCA Masters All Star Squad.
The final scorecard: Faisalabad Wolves win the first International 20-20 Club Championship.

For a look into all the news coverage, the squads, the points table, and the scorecards of the International 20-20 Club Championship, go here.

And that is where it all began.

What Does the Future Look Like?

The History:

• The English create 20-20 cricket to bring the crowds back to domestic games.
  
• Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka adopt the game soon after.
  
• In 2004 England holds a 6 team tournament comprising 20-20 domestic champions from Pakistan, SL, SA, and England.

(This was the first sign of 20-20 becoming something on the lines of the football leagues. All those who have apprehensions on 20-20 taking over cricket, should have realised it back then)

• Allen Stanford sees potential to lift the domestic game in the Windies through 20-20 and launches the Stanford series.

The Present:

• Subhash Chandra loses out on a TV contract from the BCCI unfairly and in retaliation launches the ICL.
  
• BCCI in retaliation launches the IPL.
  
• ECB in order to safeguard its players announce plans for an EPL.
  
• Allen Stanford provides his support to the EPL.

The Future:

• On the back of the success of Lahore Badshahs in the ICL, PCB announces the PPL.
  
• In fear of losing domestic cricketers, retired cricketers, coaches, trainers, assistant coaches to the IPL and the ICL, CA launches the APL.
  
• South Africa have to do what Australia does and the SAPL is launched.
  
• New Zealand hop on board the APL and it is revamped as the TTPL.
  
• Sri Lanka faces a threat from the IPL and PPL and announce the SLPL.
  
• Bangladesh join forces with the PPL because international stars are unwilling to play in Pakistan or Bangladesh.
  
• Allen Stanford lends a helping hand to all the cash strapped leagues, i.e. all those except the ICL, IPL, and TTPL.

The Result:

• The cricket world in 2010 is comprised of various leagues around the globe including the Stanford WIPL, ICL, IPL, Stanford EPL, Stanford PPL, TTPL, Stanford SLPL, and the Stanford SAPL.
  
• Major bidding wars for the best cricketers result in unprecedented salary packages for the players.
  
• End of season "The Allen Stanford Grand Championship" involving the champions of the 8 leagues is launched at Lords for a prize money of USD 1 billion.
  
• ODI cricket has officially become extinct.
  
• Exchange tours between countries involves only test cricket.
  
• Allen Stanford acquires the ICC.
  
• The FTP is developed for the Whatever PLs and the Grand Championship.

Bright? Dull? Frightening? Crazy? Good? Bad? What does the future look like?

The PCB Reacts...

Yesterday I posted on something that seems trivial today but could be a major issue in the future.

The PCB seem to have picked up on it as well. They have filed a case against the ICL for using the name "Pakistan" for one of their teams and for projecting that Inzamam & Co. are representing "Pakistan".

Feeling threatened PCB?

No doubt. The Pakistan international team faces the danger of being overshadowed by an ICL Pakistan.

I know that around Dubai last night, there were more Pakistanis interested in following ICL Pakistan vs ICL India as compared to Pakistan vs Bangladesh. This is definitely a cause for concern and a trend that looks to continue.

Even though Pakistan won and ICL Pakistan lost, there seems to be more support for ICL Pakistan.

The PCB have acted but what will the result be?

PCB's Pakistan or ICL's Pakistan?

I have been reporting on the Australians who have taken the IPL by storm. Coaches, assistant coaches, domestic players, strength trainers - you name it and the IPL teams have these Aussies on their pay roll.

One glance at the other 20-20 league and you see that its the Pakistanis who are making the ICL their very own.

The Lahore Badshahs was an all Pakistani outfit that made it to the finals of the ICL Edelweiss 20s Challenge with an unbeaten run of 7 wins. In the finals they were stopped by another Pakistani, Abdul Razzak, who also won the player of the series award.

Lahore Badshahs won a lot of hearts in India and the public back in Pakistan followed them with intent. People around Dubai were also buzzing about how good the Badshahs looked.

Inzamam's leadership, the fielding, the attacking strokeplay from Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, and Hasan Raza were all admired.

Mushy's guile and Saqlain taking wickets again reminded everyone about the great spinners Pakistan used to once have.

Azhar Mahmood showed how he has been treated so unfairly by the Pakistan selectors. And Abdul Razzak made sure that the PCB and its selectors have a lot more than just egg left on their face.

The Badshahs success and popularity across India, Pakistan, and elsewhere also led the ICL to hastily organize a 3-way tournament including teams from Pakistan, India, and a World XI.

The ICL have siezed on the classic India-Pakistan rivalry and it has given their league a new look altogether.

But what does this mean for Pakistan?

Domestic stars have left their departments and regional teams high and dry to play in India. Inzamam is leading a Pakistan XI, which can easily pass of as an international team. And the public is actually enjoying watching a Pakistan team that looks unbeatable. It doesn't matter who the competition is.

Is this good?

Initially I thought it was great since it brought an altogether different atmosphere to the ICL. But going forward if the Lahore Badshahs / ICL Pakistan do become the invincibles within the league, the fans will be somewhat divided. Who would watch an international side that easily beats the minnows but looks like one itself when facing tougher competition?

Already the public is more interested in the progress of ICL Pakistan in the ICL 20s World Series than it is in the on going international series against Bangladesh.

I heard that a victory parade in Lahore was being planned for the Lahore Badshahs before Razzak came to spoil the party. The same is being planned for ICL Pakistan if they win the 20s World Series. I can already sense the buzz around such a victory parade if it does happen.

The cricket starved Pakistani public will appear in thousands to watch Inzamam and his troops on a bus top driving from the airport to the Gaddafi or wherever else. Would they even care that the international team is playing Bangladesh?

Kapil Dev has announced that they are looking to take the ICL to Pakistan. In the next season the ICL will look to hold the Badshahs' matches in Lahore and Karachi. Talks are already taking place for this to happen in October. Its a great business move considering the interest the Badshahs have created in Pakistan.

But it definitely divides the public.

Imagine what would happen when an international team is touring Pakistan in October. There will be an ODI going on in the Gaddafi with Shoaib Malik and his men taking on Australia or South Africa. At the same time, Inzamam's Badshahs will be taking on the Hyderabad Heroes at the Lahore Gymkhana or the Garrison Cricket Ground.

Where would you go? Who would you rather watch?

There's a certain nostalgic factor associated with the Badhshahs. At the same time they are playing more exciting cricket than the international Pakistan team. The public is anti-PCB and the Badshahs boasts of players who have been projected as those treated unfairly by the cricket board.

The public's sentiment is with the Badshahs / ICL Pakistan.

The Pakistanis have 2 teams to support on the world stage. We may be fortunate but its also a dilemma. I hope the international team is not lost among the hype the Badshahs create.

I want the Badshahs' / ICL Pakistan's success but not at the expense of Pakistan's international team.

The Aussie Invasion of the IPL Continues...

Yesterday I did a post on the Aussies taking the IPL by storm. Shaun Marsh and Dominic Thornely were the latest signees to the league.

That wasn't the end of the Aussie signing spree though.

One of the commentators on that post mentioned that the dominance of Aussie coaches in the IPL has led a number of domestic players to join the IPL. Very true I think.

The latest Aussies to join the IPL are Micheal Buchanan and Matthew Mott. Micheal is the son of former Australia coach John Buchanan and he joins his father at the Kolkata Knight Riders as the teams strength trainer.

What in the world is a strength trainer? Is he going to train the likes of Saurav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting, and Chris Gayle to become stronger?

Matthew Mott is the New South Wales' coach and he also joins the Kolkata Knight Riders as John Buchanan's assistant.

And so the Aussie invasion of the IPL continues. There could yet be more though.

In a recent survey held by the Australian Cricketers' Association, 47% of the nationally contracted players said that they would consider early retirement to play in the IPL or the ICL. 49% of the players with state deals said the same.

I believe that this is going to have quite an impact on Australian cricket in the future. All the Aussies could well be thinking that this is India's plan to strip them of the world dominance that they have been on for over a decade.

Pakistan's domestic cricket is already suffering with the cream of domestic stars opting for the ICL. Even though this year the Aussies in the ICL were the ageing ones like Jason Gillespie, Damien Martyn, Jimmy Maher, and Micheal Kasprowicz, theres no reason why younger ones won't follow suit in the future.

A weakened domestic structure in Australia is bound to weaken the international team.

I say the ICL because in the same survey, 75% of the contracted players said that the ICL was good for the game. Now this is a surprise! I had thought otherwise since majority of the Aussie bloggers call it evil. The players obviously think otherwise.

Here is a further case for lifting the ban off the ICL and accepting it as an open competitor.

If the best players of cricket in the world feel that a league, labelled as rebel, is good for the game and that they would even consider early retirement to play there, the rebel label needs to go sooner rather than later.

The BCCI and the ICC need to wake up already.

Stand up to the BCCI !!

"The ICL headquarter in Mumbai has been flooded with calls from leading Pakistani cricketers who are willing to join the breakaway league"

- Former Pakistan Captain Inzamam Ul Haq who led the Lahore Badshahs in the ICL Edelweiss 20s Challenge and is leading the ICL Pakistanis in the ICL 20s World Series.

Moin Khan, who is coaching the teams captained by Inzamam, is also the ICL agent for Pakistan. He gets a neat commission from the ICL for every Pakistani player he signs on and has been instrumental in getting together an international looking Pakistan side for the league.

The presence of big names like Inzamam have led a number of Pakistani cricketers to jump ship. Ignorance on part of the PCB is another factor leading players like Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Sami joining the ICL bandwagon.

You can't blame the cricketers - for apart from being ignored for national duty, they earn more from the ICL than from playing domestic cricket and maybe even earn more than their IPL counterparts.

The PCB here failed on several accounts.

• They failed to provide the 'rebel' cricketers with enough confidence that they still have a future in Pakistan.
  
• They failed to increase pay packages for domestic cricketers. Or at least for those who had represented Pakistan or were on the fringes.
  
• They failed to negotiate IPL packages for these cricketers. The Badshahs were a hit in India so theres no reason why the BCCI would have ignored these cricketers, which have proved to be big crowd pullers.

Where does all this leave Pakistan cricket?

Not in very good shape unfortunately.

The domestic competitions this year, despite having the first choice internationals, lacked subtance due to 18 of the countries' top cricketers playing in the ICL.

If another dozen or 2 dozen cricketers join the ICL it would leave the domestic structure in tatters with only 2nd and 3rd grade cricketers participating in it. Or rather only those whom the ICL are not interested in.

So what should the PCB do about this?

Its quite simple honestly.

Let the cricketers earn their livelihood by playing in the ICL and allow them to play domestic cricket in Pakistan. Its not that these cricketers don't want to play for their regional teams or departments - they do, the PCB has banned them.

Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar have a case filed with the High Court to overturn the bans. Abdul Razzak has filed one as well.

The sooner the PCB realises that the ban is unfair, and its only going to hurt them, the better.

But then if the bans are overturned the PCB will come into the bad books of the BCCI. They can't afford to do that.

Someone then needs to knock some sense into the BCCI. Who can do that? The ICC? CA?

All the national cricket boards need to come together and stand up to the BCCI. They need to let the BCCI know that they are at a loss since they are not getting a share of IPL revenues and at the same time they are losing cricketers to the ICL because of their support to the BCCI.

I hope that sanity prevails and the boards don't go for a cut in IPL revenues as opposed to having their domestic cricketers back.

Long Live the ICL!

After the Lahore Badshahs won their first match of the ICL Edelweiss 20s Challenge, I mentioned elsewhere that knowing the Pakistani players I wouldn't be surprised to see them reaching the final undefeated and then losing it. That is exactly how ICL's 2nd edition ended last night.

I think I said it on Soulberry's blog or it could have been on Ottayan's. I tried looking for it but couldn't find it. (SB & OTT, can you help?)

The Hyderabad Heroes beat the Lahore Badshahs twice in 3 days to clinch the best of 3 finals and the ICL Trophy.

Both the finals were intense close games. The first one saw the Heroes winning by a narrow margin of 6 runs with Abdul Razzak's 3-18 restricting the Badshahs to 137 while chasing a target of 144.

The 2nd one was even closer. The match ended in a tie. Defending 130, the Badshahs did well on the back of Rana Naved's 5-22, who took the last 2 wickets in the final over of the Heroes' innings to help tie the game.

The match was then decided by a bowl out, which the Heroes won 3-0. All the Lahoris missed the stumps! Anyone remember the 20-20WC group match between Pakistan and India?

Abdul Razzak was declared player of the series for his outstanding all round performance in the tournament - He finished as the highest wicket taker of the tournament with 18 from 10 matches at 13.38 apiece. Add to that his 183 at 22.87 and he displayed what the international Pakistan team has been missing. Its also a boot to the face of the selectors that dropped him from the 20-20 World Cup Squad last year.

The Badshahs took the the ICL by storm and were huge crowd pullers. Inzamam led the team with passion and the energy displayed by the players on the field was something one doesn't see in a typical Pakistan side. They definitely improved the standard of the tournament, which augurs well for the ICL's future.

There are talks doing the rounds that the next tournament could see similar sides from Sri Lanka, South Africa, and New Zealand. There are also reports that the ICL is considering adding a 4-day competition and a 50-50 competition to their annual calendar of events.

If that happens the ICL may as well be operating as the largest competitor to the ICC rather than one to the IPL or the BCCI.

The tournament has been a success, the crowds have been entertained, TV coverage has been lapped up in India and in a big way in Pakistan, and the ICL seems to have firmed its footing in the cricketing world despite all the barriers that were thrown at it. The only complaint I have is that TV coverage is not extended to the Middle East, but I guess with time that will also happen.

Sidharth Monga on Cricinfo questions whether anyone will watch the ICL once the IPL takes off. And also if the Indian market has room for two 20-20 leagues. With the cricket craving population of over a billion I think India has room for 10 such leagues! Ok maybe 5.

Mr. Monga, ICL's 2nd edition is over and its next tournament that kicks off on 9th April will be over on the 15th, a few days before the IPL kicks off. The ICL has ensured that they don't clash with their competition and smartly so.

This brings me to ICL's next tournament which starts in 2 days. Its called the ICL 20s World Series and is a triangular tournament between ICL India, ICL Pakistan, and ICL World.

I tell you the ICL keeps getting bigger and better!!

ICL Pakistan will be captained by Inzamam Ul Haq and coached by Moin Khan. It will comprise of the Badshahs' team members joined by Abdul Razzak and Shabbir Ahmed.

ICL World will be captained by Chris Carins and coached by John Emburey. The team will comprise of the galaxy of international stars on the ICL roster including Damien Martyn, Marvan Atapattu, Nathan Astle, Micheal Bevan, Craig McMillan, Lance Klusener, Chris Harris, Ian Harvey, Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Adam Parore, Jason Gillespie, Shane Bond, and Micheal Kasprowicz among others.

ICL India will be coached by Steve Rixon and the team will be announced soon. It will be comprise of the best performers of the just concluded ICL Edelweiss 20s Challenge.

The ICL 20s World Series promises even more entertainment from the ICL. Each team will play the other twice in the league stage and then the top 2 will contest the final on 15th April.

Smartly planned and scheduled right before the IPL.

In a way the ICL has also helped the IPL. It has generated such wide interest from the public that will just spill over to the IPL with non stop 20-20 action for viewers. So Mr. Monga, I think India has enough appetitie for 2 such leagues, and as I said maybe enough for 5 such leagues as well.

Long Live the ICL!

Subhash Chandra, Kapil Dev, and all of you at Zee and the ICL board take a bow.

Shoaib Akhtar in Hotter Soup - The WAR Continues...

The PCB banned Shoaib Akhtar, Nasim Ashraf gave a press conference, Shoaib gave an interview to GEO, Hamid Mir disclosed off-camera talk, Shoaib confirmed off-camera talk on other TV channels, and now it has all come back to bite Shoaib on his back side!

To read about what has happened over the last few days since this war started, read here, here, and here.

Had Shoaib remained quiet after the ban, seemed apologetic for his indisciplinary acts, and filed an appeal, maybe, just maybe, he could have gotten away with it. He has filed an appeal and the PCB is setting up an appellate tribunal to her it out but I highly doubt Shoaib would be listened to this time round.

His vindictive interviews to the media regarding match fixin, former cricketers, the PCB, and Nasim Ashraf have completely back fired.

1. The ICC have stated that the ACU is going to question Shoaib - this is going to get him or others into serious trouble. In order to keep intact whatever little integrity he has left, he cannot go back on what he has said. If he speaks the truth and is able to give some sort of evidence, it could potentially shake up cricket in Pakistan, India, and South Africa.
   
2. The IPL have disallowed Shoaib from playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders - Lalit Modi said that since the IPL was looking for global acceptance they had to follow international guidelines, thus it would be wrong of them to allow a player banned by a home board to play in their league. Fair enough, but there could be more to this. Ottayan has pointed out that it was the BCCI that requested the ICC to question Shoaib regarding his claims of being approached by bookies in India. This could have triggered the BCCI barring Shoaib from the IPL.
   
3. Nasim Ashraf and the PCB have filed a defamation case against Shoaib - a lawsuit demanding millions of dollars in compensation for making derogatory comments about the PCB and Nasim Ashraf has been filed by the PCB. If he cannot provide evidence against Nasim Ashraf and his "fee cuts", Shoaib is going to be poorer by some $3 million! Plus I doubt the tribunal will reverse the ban following these statements.


4. The ICL looks out of the options list - Shoaib publicly spoke about slapping Inzamam and Moin Khan who are the captain and coach of the Lahore Badshahs respectively. Playing for the Lahoriyas is out of the question now. He could play for some other ICL team but then Moin Kan is the agent for Pakistani players taking part in the ICL and I believe he will put in all efforts to keep Shoaib out of it.

What now for Shoaib? I think he has bowled his final delivery in all forms of cricket.

Bollywood and Rakhi Sawant look like the more realistic option.

Lahori Shehzaade

Cricket20 is a website that covers everything and anything related to 20-20 cricket around the world. Be it the ICL, the IPL, the Pro20, Stanford Series, KFC 20-20 they have it all on Cricket20.

The website also publishes global rankings of domestic 20-20 teams from around the world and what I'm glad to see is that they don't bar the ICL teams from being ranked - thank God some people still have sense.

In their most recently updated list, the Lahore Badshahs are ranked at #3 behind the Victoria Bushrangers and the Sialkot Stallions.

The Lahore Badshahs are in their 1st season of 20-20 cricket and have swept aside all opposition in the on going ICL Edelweiss Grand Championship winning all 7 of their matches.

Led by former Pakistan captain, Inzamam Ul Haq, the Badshahs is made up of former international cricketers from Pakistan and a number of them have made a solid impact in the ongoing ICL tournament.

Here's a look at a few of the outstanding performances:

Inzamam Ul Haq: 50* off 43 deliveries to lead them to a 5 wicket win over defending champions, Chennai Superstars.

Azhar Mahmood 5-13 to dismiss the Hyderbabad Heroes for a paltry 86. He is also the 2nd highest wicket taker of the championship.

Imran Farhat: 94 off 54 balls with 8 sixes against the Chandigarh Lions leading the Badshahs to a match winning 187.

Hasan Raza: Bettered Farhat's effort, smashing an unbeaten 98 off only 52 balls with 10 fours and 4 sixes to lead them to another match winning 187 against the Mumbai Champs.

Mushtaq Ahmed: 3-20 to bowl out Delhi Giants for only 103. Imran Nazir smashed a 47 ball unbeaten 60 to lad the Badshahs to an 8 wicket win.

The ICL Edelweiss 20s Challenge enters the semifinal stage today with defending champions Chennai Superstars up against Hyderabad Heroes.

The Lahore Badshahs have entered the semis as the only team that has remained unbeaten in the 7 league games and they play the Kolkata Tigers tomorrow.

Moving back the above mentioned Cricket20 rankings - currently there are 22 teams on that list. Another 8 will be ranked once the IPL gets underway this month. Which of the IPL teams do you reckon will make it to the top 5 of this list?

Order Order !!

The timeline:

2006: Mohammad Yousuf breaks Sir Viv Richards' record for the most test runs scored in a calendar year. On top he also breaks the record for the most number of centuries in a year.

Fast Forward...

July 2007: PCB conducts a 20-20 camp and several 20-20 matches between leading players of the country in preparation for the T20 World Cup. Mohammad Yousuf fails to make an impact in the practice games and is excluded from the World Cup squad on the basis of being a poor fielder and being too old for the T20 game.

August 2007: In protest over shabby treatment from the PCB, Mohammad Yousuf signs with the ICL despite PCB's claims that all ICL signatories will be banned from international and domestic cricket.

September 2007: Nasim Ashraf and PCB enter into negotiations with Mohammad Yousuf and convince him to cancel his ICL contract because Pakistan require his services. PCB is successful as Yousuf cancels his ICL contract, returns the signing amount and the PCB announce that Yousuf will play for Pakistan. Moreover, PCB aslo secure an IPL contract for Yousuf and give him a handsome renumeration for choosing Pakistan over the ICL.

October 2007: ICL file a case against Mohammad Yousuf for dishonoring the contract. PCB state that they will take care of all the legal hassles and Yousuf has nothing to worry about.

February 2008: An Indian court passes an order that Mohammad Yousuf cannot play for any league competing with the ICL till a final verdict is given. The IPL cricketers' auction Episode I takes place and 77 international cricketers are sold to Indian multinationals and bollywood stars. Noone bids for Mohammad Yousuf.

March 2008: The IPL cricketers' auction Episode II takes place and another 14 cricketers are auctioned but no Mohammad Yousuf yet again.

Today (March 19th, 2008): The Mumbai based arbitration court announces that there will be a final hearing for the case on March 29th before a verdict will be given.

March 29th, 2008: What will the verdict be? Or rather, what should it be?

Mohammad Yousuf has thus far blamed the PCB and the BCCI for not pressing on his case with the court and also for not garanteeing to the IPL franchises that he is able to play so that they bid for him.

Who should really be blamed? The PCB? BCCI? Yousuf? The ICL? or the IPL? Or maybe the lawyers fighting his case? Or the judge?

Inzamam in Familiar Territory

For as long as Pakistan chased down totals over the last 15 years, they relied on one man - Inzamam ul Haq.

Announcing his arrival at the world stage in grand fashion as a 19 year old during the 1992 World Cup he first showed his chasing abilities in the semi final of the tournament against the Kiwis. Following that Inzamam masterminded many a chase for Pakistan, with the most recent in memory being the last ball 4 he hit of Sachin to chase down a 300+ total in India a couple of years ago.

Nearing 40 now, Inzamam's abilities haven't gone away and he displayed his mettle again yesterday as he lead his Lahore Badshah's to a 5 wicket win over the Chennai Superstars in the ongoing ICL's Edelweiss 20s Challenge.

Chasing 158 in 20 overs, Inzamam walked out when the Badshah's were precariously placed at 32-3 of 5 overs, which soon became 47-4 in 7. Needing another 111 runs in 13 overs, Inzamam partnered with Naved Latif to hammer the Chennai bowling as the two added 77 runs in the next 9 overs. Once Naved departed, Inzamam was joined by Azhar Mahmood and the two then knocked off the remaining 34 runs in only 3 overs.

Inzamam remained unbeaten on 50 off 43 deliveries that contained 5 boundaries and a six and was also awarded the man of the match for his effort.

The Chennai team included Micheal Bevan (56 off 53), Ian Harvey (5 off 13 and 1-37), Russel Arnold (3 off 4), Adam Parore (3*), Shabbir Ahmed (0-41), and the 2 Kumarans.

The Lahore Badshahs looks like the strongest outfit in the tournament largely because the team includes all former Pakistan internationals, which is an added advantage over other teams that include players from all round the globe.

Knowing this team and the players in it, I can easily put a wager on them going unbeaten to the final and then losing it!

In other results thus far:

Ahmedabad Rockets beat Chandigarh Lions by 19 runs.
Points of interest:
Wavell Hinds smashed 59 off 43 for the Rockets.
Skipper Chris Cairns picked up 2 wickets for the Lions.
Matthew Elliot top scored for the Lions with 39.
Chris Cairns threatened to take the game away before he was undone by Jason Gillespie.

Delhi Giants beat Mumbai Champs by 6 wickets
Points of interest:
Champs' skipper Brian Lara ruled out of tournament with injury.
Stand in skipper Nathan Astle top scored with 32.
Shane Bond gave away only 18 runs in 4 overs to restrict the Champs.
Abbas Ali smashed an unbeaten 64 off 49 deliveries to lead the Giants' reply.

Watch this space for more updates on the Lahore Badshahs and the ICL.

Welome Back ICL!

The 2nd edition of the ICL gets underway today and the tournament is bigger and better than the pervious one. Smartly scheduled with the start a month before the IPL and the end over a week before the IPL kicks off, the 'Edelweiss 20s Challenge' starts today with a match between the Ahmedabad Rockets and the Chandigarh Lions.

The ICL has managed to rope in the financial services firm 'Edelweiss' as its sponsor and a deal has also been brokered with Ten Sports to telecast the matches along with the owner's channel Zee Sports. Reportedly the TV rights have been sold for $5 million, half of what the IPL is getting from Sony per annum.

I reported on the composition of the all Pakistan outfit, Lahore Badshahs, previously. All the Pakistani players will be representing one team apart from Shabbir Ahmed and Abdul Razzak who will play for the same teams as last year. Here is a look at the other teams in the competition.

Ahmedabad Rockets
Captain: Damien Martyn
International Stars: Jason Gillespie, Wavell Hinds, Murray Goodwin, Heath Streak
Indian Stars: Reetinder Sodhi, Sridharan Sriram
Coach: John Emburey

Mumbai Champs
Captain: Brian Lara
International Stars: Nathan Astle, Tino Best, Micheal Kasprowicz, Johan Van Der Wath
Indian Star: Robin Morris
Coach: Sandip Patel

Chandigarh Lions
Captain: Chris Cairns
International Stars: Matthew Elliot, Andrew Hall, Lou Vincent, Daryl Tuffey
Indian Stars: Dinesh Mongia, Manish Sharma
Coach: Balwinder Sandhu

Kolkata Tigers
Captain: Craig McMillan
International Stars: Lance Klusener, Andre Adams, Upul Chandana, Nantie Hayward
Indian Stars: Rohan Gavaskar, Deep Dasgupta, Abhishek Jhunjunwala
Coach: Daryll Cullinan

Chennai Superstars
Captain: Stuart Law
International Stars: Micheal Bevan, Russel Arnold, Ian Havey, Adam Parore, Shabbir Ahmed
Indian Stars: Thiru Kumaran, Hemang Badani
Coach: Micheal Bevan (Player / Coach)

Hyderabad Heroes
Captain: Chris Harris
International Stars: Abdul Razzak, Nicky Boje, Justin Kemp, Jimmy Maher
Indian Stars: Ambati Rayudu, Shashank Nag
Coach: Steve Rixon

Delhi Giants
Captain: Marvan Atapattu
International Stars: Shane Bond, Dale Benkenstien, Avishka Gunuwardene, Nic Pothas
Indian Stars: JP Yadav, Abbas Ali, Ali Murtaza
Coach: Madan Lal

Round 1 that kicks off today will comprise of 28 matches with each team playing the other once and the top 4 qualifying for he semis. The finals will be a best of 3 series.

All the Pakistanis will be rooting for the Lahore Badshahs, who are you rooting for?

I can't wait to watch Inzamam Ul Haq!!!

Here come the Lahore BADSHAHS!

Team: Lahore Badshahs (Translation: Lahore Kings)
Coach: Moin Khan
Captain: Inzamam Ul Haq

The Squad
Openers: Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Taufiq Umar
Middle Order: Inzamam, Naveed Latif, Hasan Raza
Allrounders: Azhar Mahmood, Abdul Razzak
Wicketkeeper: Humayun Farhat
Fast Bowlers: Mohammad Sami, Rana Naveed Ul Hasan, Shabbir Ahmed, Riaz Afridi, Shahid Nazir
Spinners: Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Arshad Khan

Reading those names as part of a Pakistani squad would seem that a Pakistan A side is touring for a series of matches. This is not Pakistan A, its the Lahore Badshahs team taking part in the 2nd edition of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) that gets underway in a weeks time.

Apart from the 6 teams that participated in the 1st edition of the ICL, the 2nd edition, "ICL 20s Grand Championship" will feature another 2 teams: Lahore Baadshahs and Ahmedabad Rockets.
In the last 2 days Osman Samiuddin, Ian Chappell, and Asif Iqbal have raised their concerns regarding the bans placed on the cricketers joining the ICL. I did the same a few weeks back demanding the rule of the free economy in cricket - Read here and here.

There is a clear distinction between the IPL and the ICL - the former boasts of current international stars, while the other of retired or ignored ones. Then why are these national boards depriving these cricketers of their livelihood?

Moreover, the ICL 20s Grand Championship will run from 9th March to 7th April, thus concluding over a week before the IPL gets underway. ICL has smartly scheduled its competition so it doesn't clash with the IPL and even then the BCCI seems to have a problem with it. They have left no stone unturned in trying to block it with barriers of all forms -including support from the ICC and other national boards.

As has been mentioned in the articles I linked above, the key question here is what are the ICC and the national cricket boards getting out of this? The IPL benefits only the BCCI, the franchisees, and the auctioned cricketers - the other cricket boards get nothing out of it and neither does the ICC.

This just makes the BCCI the big bully monopoly earning billions and the ICC, PCB, CA, ECB, etc its partners in crime who get what?

Intriguing I think.

Of Traitors, Capitalist Cricket Economies, Cricket Television, and Eating More Pie...

In Dubai, I have come across a high number of British, Australian, and Canadian expats employed in high profile consulting firms, investment banks, and law firms. While these Western expats is a more recent phenomenon, I know thousands of Pakistanis and Indians who have spent the best part of their lives making a living in the Middle East.

I also know many Pakistanis who grew up in Pakistan, went to the US for college, and have stayed there working for the Microsofts, Googles, and Amazons of the world. And, I recently read that a number of American IT and Finance professionals have relocated to India, where they are employed as directors, CFOs, and CEOs in leading Indian companies or MNCs with offices operating out of Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore.

Out of the 7 bloggers on wellpitched, 3 are part of the US workforce, 2 work in Dubai, 1 lives and works in London, and another is pursuing his MBA in France. All 7 are from Pakistan.

All these people who are working in countries which are not their countries of origin are doing so for their own reasons but ultimately it all boils down to one factor - a better lifestyle / a higher standard of living as compared to their home country.

Are we all traitors? Just because we have left our country of origin in pursuit of higher salaries doesn't make us traitors, does it? Surely not!

So why is it that when a cricketer decides to quit playing for his country to pursue an offer from a county or a club or decides to skip a test tour for the same, is he branded a traitor? Isn't he also looking for a higher salary, a better lifestyle, a secure future? Surely he is. They call them professional cricketers and yet they expect them to dedicate their lives to a single employer. How unfair is that?

The launch of the IPL has led all national boards to express concerns regarding players choosing Indian clubs over their test teams. Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds have been the most vocal cricketers raising concerns of how the IPL could lure away test cricketers on the fringes of retirement. The ECB have voiced concerns about the impact the IPL will have on county cricket.

Pakistani cricketers have already accepted bans from their domestic teams to take part in the ICL. Justin Langer and Shane Warne have informed their counties that they will be missing the initial part of the season cause of the IPL. Australian cricketers are hoping that they don't have to tour Pakistan so they can take part in the IPL. They even waged a contract dispute with their employers so they could accept IPL offers.

No one denies that earning half a million to a million dollars for 2 months of playing 20-20 cricket in one country is more lucrative than earning half of that for playing a full season of tests and ODIs in 4 different countries. Then why not allow the cricketers a higher standard of living?

Just like the best Pakistani bankers maybe cutting deals in Dubai, the best American IT professionals maybe developing softwares in India, the best Australian cricketers could be hitting fours and sixes elsewhere. When the former are not labelled traitors why the latter?

As it happens in the corporate world where Goldman Sachs and Merrl Lynch vie for the best finance professionals by making counter offers, Microsoft and Google introduce new employee benefits to retain their best developers, McKinsey and Booze Allen fight it out to get hold of the top MBAs from Harvard and INSEAD, why can't the national cricket boards, the English counties, the IPL, the ICL, and other cricket leagues coexist and vie for the best cricketers without branding them as traitors?

Maybe there has to be a middle ground but I think banning one league because it is not run by the national cricket board, trying to schedule another when no cricket tours are taking place, or seeking to cancel a tour so that national players can take part in the IPL is all too monopolistic and against the best interests of the game.

In a capitalist, or rather an ideal world the ICC's FTP, the counties, IPL, and the ICL should be able to coexist and the professional cricketers should be allowed to choose whom they want to play for. You will find some cricketers who would give up millions to represent their country, and on the other hand, you will also find some who will give up playing for their country for a few hundred thousands. Its exactly the same situation as an employee choosing a higher pay for long and stressful work hours as opposed to one opting for a lower salary for a more relaxed job. Thats called being professional and choosing your employer and not being a traitor.

Competition never hurt anyone. Not only the cricketers will be the ones benefiting - all those ruling the game, i.e. the ICC, the national boards, the I whatever Ls, the broadcasters, the advertisers and sponsors all stand to benefit. Imagine the increase in the pool of cricketers these people will be able to choose from. Imagine the range of talent that could be unearthed. Imagine the amount of cricket that will be shown on TV. Imagine all the money that will be generated from the game.

Why try eating more from the same pie? Work on expanding the size of the whole pie and let everyone eat as much as they can!

And all this without calling anyone a traitor.

Give us more Monday Night Wars!

Back in the early to mid 1990s the WWF used to be a leader in sports entertainment. It used to kill its competition (WCW, ECW, etc) in TV ratings and Pay Per Views till Ted Turner brought on board Eric Bischoff to compete with Vince Mcmahon's empire. Bischoff, a smart businessman with buckets and buckets of Turner's money, lured in the top WWF stars and by the mid 90s the likes of Hogan, Hall, Nash, and Bret Hart were seen in the WCW rings. WCW started to beat WWF in the ratings and built a larger fan following for a good 2-3 years largely because the WWF stars of the early 90s had jumped ship. The best part was that it gave us the best every Monday Night Wars in the history of wrestling! WCW remained #1 before a Stonecold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon changed the fortunes for the WWF. A few years on the top and an IPO later the WWF bought out WCW and ran as a monopoly before the TNA emerged. Today, known as the WWE due to a lost law suit against the panda foundation, the WWF remains largely popular despite a tussle for wrestlers with the TNA.

Now what does this have to do with cricket? It does. The same could be happening with the ICL and the IPL.

The IPL has been able to sign on many more international stars than the ICL but that has largely been due to the 'unoffcial' tag given to the ICL. Would it have been different if it wasn't deemed an unofficial league and if the national boards did not ban players joining the ICL? Surely. Remember that Shane Warne and Glen McGrath were first linked to the ICL and the only thing that made them change their mind was 'unofficial'.

What if a few years down the line the ICL and the BCCI reach an understanding? What if the ICC decides to sanction the ICL? What if the Indian Govt. decides that a BCCI monopoly is no good and that a free economy in Indian cricket is needed thus making ICL 'official'? What if the national boards show compassion towards the banned domestic cricketers?

Surely there are a lot of 'what ifs' but they are all very probable. If these what ifs happen, then instead of the cricketers auction set to take place between the 8 IPL franchises, you could be witnessing a bidding war between the ICL and the IPL ala WWF and WCW in the mid 90s.

As of now the IPL is sitting on BCCI's riches while the ICL is backed by ZEE which is by no means a pushover, it is the largest listed media company in India. Both have the money to attract high profile stars, both have the infrastructure to hold matches and telecast them live. Both have the sponsors to back them up. The IPL has the edge right now only because of its status as 'official'. I say grant the ICL the same status and let the 2 leagues compete. It can only be good for the game.

There would have been no Stonecold Steve Austin had there been no Eric Bischoff. Vince Mcmahon would have never gotten off his lazy @$$ had Ted Turner not pulled him down.

The IPL has a succesful model in place but no monopoly is good for the economy. Let competition prevail I say and give us a war of words between Kapil Dev and Lalit Modi; give us some bidding wars between ICL's Kolkata Tigers and Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata team; give us some media wars between ZEE and Sony for advertisements and sponsorships; give us some tussle between ZEE and BCCI for rights to using stadiums. Give us some more Monday Night Wars!

Not that all this is not happening right now but the IPL has that unfair advantage, that 'official' tag. Despite that the ICL has been able to attract stars but mostly retired cricketers while the IPL has signed on current internationals. The IPL's magnitude has also led the ICL to rethink their competition - they had a regional competition in their first year, this year they are planning to field full international sides. An Indian squad will not be difficult to build but the others would be a challenge. The ICL will live up to that challenge as well as they have just announced their first international squad:

Pakistan's latest ICL signees: Mushtaq Ahmed, Rana Naveed, Imran Nazir, Humayun Farhat, Riaz Afridi, Mohammad Sami, Shahid Nazir, and Hasan Raza. Add them to last year's signees Inzamam, Razzak, Mahmood, Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Shabbir Ahmed, and you already have a 14 man squad coached by ICL agent Moin Khan. To me that looks like an international squad, only that it includes retired cricketers and those out of favor with the selectors. Mohammad Yousuf would have been there had it been 'Official'.

I think both the leagues can prevail 'officially'. The BCCI and the ICC can sanction both. Subhash Chandra and Sharad Pawar will have more thinking to do. Kapil Dev and Lalit Modi will have more recruiting to do. Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara will have more options to think of. Zee and Sony TV will have more ratings to vie for. At the end of it all, it adds up to a lot more dollars for everyone involved and ultimately a lot more dollars for India.

It can only be beneficial to the ICC, cricket, the players, the media, the TV channels, and everyone involved. It can only be beneficial to the one stopping it from happening at the moment, India.

It will fast track their 20-year process of becoming the largest economy in the world!

What Will You Be Watching?

December and January is usually packed with international cricket with all test playing countries involved in tours against each other. Apart from Australia and Bangladesh, this time round is no different with 4 different matches set to begin between Friday and Saturday.

The 2nd test between India and Pakistan gets underway tomorrow. The 2nd ODI between the Proteas and the Kiwis, who dished out a last ball nailbiter on Sunday, is also tomorrow. A rather low key ODI series between the Windies and Zimbabwe begins tomorrow. And Saturday is the 1st day of the 1st test between Sri Lanka and England.

Amidst all this international cricket hoopla, tomorrow will mark the launch of another cricket series. The Indian Cricket League 20-20 Championship!

The ICL, termed as "unofficial" and "rebel" by the ICC and the various cricket boards, is all set to roll out a glittering opening ceremony tomorrow. They have managed to rope in Bollywood bigwigs Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor to perform at the ceremony. Yana Gupta and the Band of Boys are expected to be there as well along with winners of the ZEE TV talent show 'Saregamapa'. The ceremony will be followed by the first match of the tournament.

The entire ICL 20-20 championship will be played at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula in Chandigarh. The home team, Chandigarh Lions will kick start the tournament playing against the Delhi Jets. Chris Cairns and Marvan Atapattu will walk out for the toss and internationals Imran Farhat, Dinesh Mongia, Darryl Tuffey, Hamish Marshall, Reetinder Sodhi, JP Yadav, Taufiq Umar, and Paul Nixon will be seen in action along with a host of talented Indian first class cricketers.

Add to this a commentary team comprising of Tony Greig, Dean Jones, Jeff Thomson, Mike Whitney, Pat Symcox, and Kapil Dev and you can expect a good product to be delivered by ZEE Sports tomorrow.

Those who are worried about who would watch this when an India-Pakistan series is going on should not be too worried as ZEE has planned it immaculately. The Lions vs Jets game will start an hour and half after the 1st day of the test ends. The cricket fan can expect to have a jam packed day tomorrow.

The ICL to me is a refreshing change. I have always enjoyed games involving international cricketers from different countries playing in the same team. Be it a World XI or an Asian XI its always intriguing to watch an Australian and an Indian or a Pakistani and a South African trying to take the attack apart. The ICL offers exactly this.

Will you be watching it?

News, Rumours, and Pics of the Week...

Shoaib Akhtar has been visiting orphanages, schools, and other places on the current India tour in a bid to shed his 'bad boy' image. In one of the recent school visits, he proposed to a 12th grade Indian school girl, who accepted! Now how does Sania Mirza, who claims she has been 'bowled over' by Shoaib Akhtar feel about this? And is proposing to a school girl shedding Shoaib's 'bad boy' image?

And why did he visit a girls' school again? I wonder which girl from the pic was the one proposed.

Former Australian coach, John Buchanan has suggested that international cricket be converted from matches between countries to matches between franchises to reduce the gap between Australia and the rest. Whats even more surprising is that ICC Chairman, Ray Mali, has said that the ICC will look into this. Are these men gone crazy? This can work for club level 20-20, something like the ICL and IPL, but to do this at international level is a joke. Which teams will people support? Imagine a Bill Gates' team including Ponting, Sachin, and Kallis against a Warren Buffet owned team including Hayden, Yuvraj, and Smith. Who will you support? Surely the public wants to see their country battle it out against other countries. So what if the Aussies are dominating? - TheWindies did the same in the 70s and 80s.

The Pakistani and Indian cricketers visited the Gwalior fort on the eve of the 4th ODI. I posted a picture in the preview of the match here on wellpitched, but there were some other interesting pics that the cricketers posed for.

Shoaib Akhtar looks like he's posing to impress Sanjay Gupta to get a role in his next movie considering Sanju baba is in jail. Maybe thats why Shoaib Akhtar is keen on visiting Sanjay Dutt in jail. RP Singh on the other hand is probably thinking that someone should remake 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke' and cast him in Aamir Khan's role. His pose reminds me of the song Aamir sang from the some fort for Juhil Chawla.

Adam Gilchrist became the first person to hit a 100 sixes in test cricket this morning when he smashed Muralitharan for 2 consecutive ones. Some achievement. Gilly also won the award for the best ever Australian ODI cricketer. I'm a major Gilly fan, but isn't this award too high an honour for him? How did he manage to get more votes that the likes of Dean Jones, Mark Waugh, Micheal Bevan, and Ricky Ponting?

Quote of the week.

"I've only been in the match referee's room once and that was for wearing the wrong-coloured undergarment. It's ridiculous." - Stuart Broad.

Now imagine that - wrong coloured undergarment! What exactly are the rules for that? Which colours are allowed and which not? Moreover, how did the match referee know what colour broad was wearing? Very strange if you ask me.

Inzamam's Heroes & Lara's Champs

Many doubted that the rebel ICL will ever go through due to the bans on players from their boards, the launch of the IPL, and various other operational issues. However, against all odds, Kapil Dev (chairman of the ICL executive board) announced the composition of the 6 teams taking part in the 20-20 competition in ICL's 1st year.

Click here to see the complete composition of the Hyderabad Heroes, Kolkata Tigers, Mumbai Champs, Delhi Jets, Chennai Superstars, and Chandigarh Lions. The coaches of these teams are prominent former international cricketers. I would've thought Moin Khan and Micheal Bevan, two of the coaches, would have been good to play as well. Wonder why they're coaching.

The captains haven't been announced yet but Inzamam and Lara are expected to lead their teams - the Heroes and Champs respectively. The Pakistani fans should look forward to watching the Hyderabad Heroes in action as it not only includes Inzi, but also Abdul Razzak and Azhar Mahmood. Moreover, Moin Khan is coach of the team. Ambati Rayudu, the 22 year old touted to be India's latest batting prodigy, would love the prospect of batting along side Inzamam Ul Haq.

The Aussies should be looking forward to supporting the Chennai team, coached by Bevan, which includes Stuart Law and Ian Harvey. I still remember the 1996 world cup semi final between Australia and the Windies where the Aussies were 4 down for 40 odd before Law and Bevan scripted a remarkable recovery. What a partnership that was.

Lara will play alongside Nathan Astle for Mumbai, while the Chandigarh team looks like a strong outfit with internationals Cairns, Farhat, Marshall, Hall, Sodhi, D. Mongia, and Tuffey in the ranks.

The ICL looks set to get underway as soon as the issue of grounds get settled. Rumours flying around are that grounds in Sharjah, a private club in Karachi, and a few around India will be used. the prospects would have even been brighter had the IPL not been launched but then nothing flourishes without a little bit of competition. And rebels are always welcome.

Let the ICL roll...