Breakaway Indian Cricket League Announced

[Collyisamackem]

http://www.cricinfo.com/india/conten...ry/288641.html

Not much to say on this myself as an Englishman, but what would the ramifications of this be for Indian cricket?

[Nostromo]

Shades of Kerry Packer? This ICL nonsense will be about as complimentary to the BCCI as a slap on the face. Not that I have any sympathy for the BCCI for the shambles that it has made of Indian cricket. I would also take the word 'international' with two pinches of salt (and a packet of crisps thrown in for good measure). Personally, I very much doubt if the leading players from the main test playing nations will be queuing up to join this farce, but the leftovers, potential retirees and other characters with some sort of grouse might be tempted for the money. Also, players from Bangladesh, Kenya etc who don't usually have lucrative sponsorship deals might want to be part of this circus. But I cannot see it succeeding though; for the sake of the Game, if not anything else, I hope that this Subhash Chandra character sees his plans become the Mother of all Backfires.

[Richard Jenkins]

Just been doing a bit of background on this guy Subhash Chandra and the essel group. It seems he has a lot of fingers in a lot of pies, media,finance,retail, packaging & publishing to name a few. It seems he's worth a few bob.

Why would it be bad for the game, was Packer really 'bad'?

Without Packer we wouldn't have ODI's . Given the popularity of 20-20 i'm not surprised someone else is having a pop.
I think it could be interesting.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Richard Jenkins

Just been doing a bit of background on this guy Subhash Chandra and the essel group.[...It seems he's worth a few bob.

click here

Originally Posted by Rediff

Chandra, a one-time rice packer in Hissar, Haryana, is being credited with outwitting News Corp's chairman and global media baron Rupert Murdoch, who is known for his ability to get what he wants.

Hmm some guy - even Richard Branson could not outwit Rupert Murdoch with his Virgin Media agains Sky TV.

Originally Posted by Richard Jenkins

Without Packer we wouldn't have ODI's . Given the popularity of 20-20 i'm not surprised someone else is having a pop.

That's true - being a Test man rather than a one dayer, I wish Packer had never got involved in cricket.

Interesting to see what he does in India.

[Tendlya]

Leagues of this kind are essential to cricket.

Once in every 4 years i see some promising talent...but..since the player happens to play for a minnow(i should be careful), the only option the player has ...is to either represent the country 4 years later(NO GURANTEE)..or play county cricket(which has all slots full in its own way)...NOT FAIR..Say Malaci Jones, am not seeing is a future star but can improve himself..if given a chance

WC should be a stage to witness best of cricketing talents in the world and there should be a gateway thereafter for promising players hailing from non test playing countries

As far as Kerry Packer is concerned, i have full respect for him for the manner in which he wanted revolutionize the game. No harm in having WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE and CRICKET WORLD CUP as well as it happens in soccer. Not sure why some parts of the media still villainize him as a threat to COUNTRY CRICKET back then

CLUB championships and leagues provide opportunity to have equally balanced teams. Money cannot win championships. If it were to be , Yankees would have won MLB world champions every year

[Django]

Originally Posted by Richard Jenkins

Without Packer we wouldn't have ODI's .

I disagree. In the 1970s cricket had reached a stage where some change was inevitable. The world cup in 1975 was a huge success and test cricket was dying because of bore draws. If not Packer someone else would have started it, surely. Packer remains simply the first media magnate to commercially exploit the game.

I am not sure this parallel league will even kick-off because the BCCI virtually controls the game in India and it certainly will not be interested in giving any approval.

Indian cricketers are very well paid now as compared to the mid 70s when cricketers very hardly paid anything. For an average Indian cricketer to play for India is more lucrative even from a commercial point of view.

[Wanderer]

Seems like this idea is being shot down before it has taken wings. Or at the least, it will have to be renamed as the words "Indian, Cricket and League" are the copyright held by a top BCCI official (unnamed) according to a report in the Times of India.

[imaginarydiva]

Originally Posted by Ernest

That's true - being a Test man rather than a one dayer, I wish Packer had never got involved in cricket.

Interesting to see what he does in India.

I couldn't agree more. One dayers are probably popular because they're relatively more fast paced but i think they shift the focus more on the batsman, than the bowler--which is unfair. Plus, all those fielding restrictions and power plays, blah blah, don't really help in giving bowlers an equal opportunity.