Zee's new cricket dream foggy
Zee chief says he is not capable of answering the question about the players who have agreed to join his league.
New Delhi: The Chairman of Zee Telefilms Limited, Subhash Chandra, took the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by surprise on Tuesday by announcing a parallel cricket league called the Indian Cricket League in the country.
While Australian media mogul Kerry Packer’s dream child revolutionised world cricket 30 years ago, it remains to be seen whether the Indian Cricket League will benefit Indian cricket.
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As the nation waits with bated breath for the future of the present Indian team and their coach, business tycoons seem to have the alternative cure.
“We are taking a decisive action for all the Indians and it is the need of the time. We will be creating talent pool for them and I am sure they would support us," Subhash Chandra said after announcing the new league.
The home and away format with Twenty20 and One-Dayers promises a million-dollar bounty for the six teams, which would be competing in the inaugural edition of the league.
Chandra also said that each team could have up to four foreign players in their ranks. So are any big names coming?
“My team knows better as they have contacted many of them. Maybe I not capable of answering that question," Chandra said.
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And while a 65-member selection panel and talent-spotters would be put in action to catch budding cricketers and groom them, it will be interesting to see the reaction of the BCCI.
“BCCI is per immediate reaction to de nahi sakti kyonki details hame pata nahi hai ki kya hai, kis tarah ka hai (BCCI doesn’t have the details of the league). So it is not proper for us to give any reaction now," BCCI’s Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said.
But BCCI Vice-President Lalit Modi told CNN-IBN that Chandra must take their permission for holding any matches.
“Firstly if he is planning a local tournament, he cannot use our sports facilities without our permission. If he is roping in international players – that requires BCCI and ICC sanction and I haven’t heard about it till now. The board does not give private parties permission for any tournaments like this," Modi said.
Kerry Packer had the world’s top cricketers signed up before he announced a parallel league.
But in Chandra’s case, without any names so far, it could be a long way to draw parallels.
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