BCCI amnesty for 79 including Badani, Dinesh Mongia

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The ICL has decided to release around 50 players who had sought a return to official cricket. Those released are believed to include New Zealand's Shane Bond, Pakistan's Imran Nazir and Naved-ul-Hasan, Bangladesh's Habibul Bashar and Deep Dasgupta, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Hemang Badani from India. More... ICL releases 50 players before amnesty deadline Ajay S Shankar May 20, 2009 The ICL has decided to release around 50 players who had sought a return to official cricket. Those released are believed to include New Zealand's Shane Bond, Pakistan's Imran Nazir and Naved-ul-Hasan, Bangladesh's Habibul Bashar and Deep Dasgupta, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and Hemang Badani from India. The league will now adopt a two-pronged strategy: start activities afresh by holding talent identification camps and clinics at the six grounds that it controls in India, and pursue legally the ICC's refusal to grant it recognition. "We will now focus on our October tournament programme," Himanshu Mody, the ICL's business head, told Cricinfo. "We decided to release these players because the ICL is about cricketers, we wouldn't want to stand in their way. We understand that they want to leave us to progress in their careers. You could soon see some of these players in action at the official level, either playing, coaching, or in a management role. Some of them may even turn up for the IPL, which is good for them. We are only happy to help them benefit professionally." These players - among the 85 Indians and 70 foreigners with the ICL - had applied for release from the league after various national boards echoed the BCCI's amnesty offer made on April 29. They were asked to put in their requests by May 15, facilitating a return to the official fold by May 31, a day before new and stringent ICC rules on unofficial cricket come into force. Dasgupta, the former India wicketkeeper who played for ICL's Royal Bengal Tigers, welcomed the league's decision and called it a "positive development" for the players. "It's good to hear about this," Dasgupta told Cricinfo. "It's in line with the ICL's concept that they are always for the cricketers. I am now looking forward to playing in the official set-up and take my career forward." Even though the ICL has hinted that Bond is in the process of being released, the player decided against commenting at this juncture. "There is no update, nothing yet," Bond told Cricinfo. ICL officials, meanwhile, also confirmed that plans to take on the ICC in a legal battle are still on track. "You can expect a movement on this next week," an official said. Last month, the ICC had rejected the ICL's request for recognition to end months of uncertainty over the issue, including two failed rounds of official talks between the BCCI and the ICL. The ICL board took the decision to release these players during a meeting on May 18 and said in an official statement that the league "will continue to bring up and nurture younger talents for future". "A few domestic and overseas players and support staff have approached us with an application to be released from ICL to pursue cricket with the state associations," the statement said. "The same was due to the announcement made by the BCCI offering to take the players back into their fold." Mody dismissed suggestions that the exodus would cripple the league. "It is not a setback," he said. "On the contrary, it will help us streamline the league, and come up with a better Twenty20 product in October. We are very confident going forward."

[Lord]

MoYo backstabs ICL again

The ICL has accepted the resignations of Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq, paving the way for their return to official cricket, possibly as early as Pakistan's tour of Sri Lanka which starts in late June. While some national boards have set a 'cooling period' before players associated with the ICL are considered for selection, the PCB is accepting both players into official cricket immediately. "They are available for selection now and that is a good thing," Wasim Bari, director HR of the PCB, who has been handling the ICL cases, told Cricinfo. "Cooling period doesn't come into it." Yousuf had signed up with the ICL in 2007 but was lured out of the contract by the PCB administration of the day. However, legal wrangles denied him an IPL contract in 2008 and he rejoined the ICL in November. That virtually ended his career with Pakistan, but the latest development could see him back in national colours in little more than a month's time. His team-mate Razzaq hasn't played for Pakistan in more than two years, and had even announced his international retirement in August 2007 after being excluded from the national side for the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa. He had signed up with the ICL then, but earlier this month he said he was ready to pledge his future to Pakistan.

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:]

[EnterTheVoid]

Aah, you're a sphinkter YO - YO Uhm, thats a technical name for [....] :D

[vvvslaxman]

Nice picture as usual by cricinfo :winky:

[hassan_113]

Well he was YoYo (Yousuf Youhana!) I don't think it's massive news- what are the chances of the politics improving for Yousuf to play in ICL (if it still is gonna continue) ?!!! MoYo is certainly no hero at the mo- and only when backed into a corner has he chosen his country one could say. On the other hand, Pak was hardly playing cricket and he needed money, others would say. But not massive news- quite predictable.

[someone]

What are these pakistani, played for our indian for 2 years getting good money and when that not working they jump the ship, but I would still never trust them so if again they get a offer like the icl they will join

[Sachinism]

BCCI amnesty for 79 including Badani, Dinesh Mongia The BCCI has granted amnesty to 79 ICL players, 11 former players and 11 officials, dealing a potentially crippling blow to the unofficial league. The players include Hemang Badani, Dinesh Mongia and Deep Dasgupta while the former players include Sandeep Patil, EAS Prasanna, Madan Lal and Ajit Wadekar. The players have been declared eligible for domestic cricket in India, which will be good news for the teams that suffered most from the ban - Bengal, Punjab and Hyderabad - but their participation in the IPL has not yet been formalised. The ICL is now left with five Indian players from its original pool of 84 but there has been no official confirmation on the status of the league's 53 remaining foreign signings. ICL officials said "some of the foreign players" have left, and there have been individual confirmations from players such as Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq and, on Tuesday, South Africa's Justin Kemp. However, India's former captain Kapil Dev, who is the chariman of the ICL's Executive Board, has not terminated his contract, nor has former wicketkeeper Kiran More. Himanshu Mody, the ICL's business head, dismissed suggestions that the league was winding up. "The world has been saying this about the ICL time and again, and every time we come out stronger," he told Cricinfo. ICL officials maintain that the league will survive and will soon conduct camps in India to create a talent pool. They also say they are "on track" with their international tournament planned for October; the March edition of the league had been called off due to the deepening recession and non-availability of Pakistan players given the cross-border tensions in the wake of the Mumbai attacks last November. Daryll Cullinan, coach of the Royal Bengal Tigers, appeared less optimistic. "This is a big blow because it is the bulk of the Indian players continuing their careers outside of the ICL," he said. "My guess [on whether the league would wind up] is as good as anyone else's. I don't really know what the long-term plans or intentions are of the ICL." However, the players who have quit are looking at the benefits of life with the BCCI. "It's heartening to be back in the main fold," Hemang Badani, the former India batsman, told Cricinfo. "I am looking forward to playing again for my state [Tamil Nadu] and also for Chennai Super Kings in the next IPL. I would like to use my experience to make Tamil Nadu win a Ranji Trophy." The decision to quit the league did, however, leave him with mixed emotions. "It was obviously tough because we had left the BCCI, joined ICL and have come back again now. There were worries whether they [bCCI] would treat us right or victimise us but so far things have gone on well. Look, there was not enough cricket being played in the ICL now. Not even practice. We were all hoping that the so-called war between the ICL and the BCCI would end but it hasn't. We couldn't enter grounds or play for our companies. There was also a cash crunch at the ICL. But, I would like to thank the ICL for the opportunity given in the last two years and I wish them luck for the future." A major attraction for the returning players will be the opportunity to play in the big-money IPL but the BCCI said it was yet to decide on the issue, although the IPL has been classified as an Indian domestic event. The BCCI statement announcing the amnesty was ambiguous on the point: "Guidelines with respect to participation in Indian Premier League will be intimated in due course," it said. However Rajiv Shukla, a BCCI vice-president and member of the IPL governing council, said the board might apply the one-year cooling period prescribed by the ICC. Shukla also said the return of ICL players would be beneficial for Indian cricket. "This issue has been going on for some time and that's why the BCCI decided that players who are playing for other leagues should be given an opportunity to return," Shukla said. The Indian board announced on April 29 an amnesty for all Indian players associated with the ICL, with a May 31 deadline to cut their ties with the league. Players who did so would be eligible to play international cricket after a one-year 'cooling period' and domestic cricket from June 1, when the ICC's new rules on official and unofficial cricket came into force. Following the decision, other cricket governing bodies, including the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) offered amnesty to their players involved with the league.

[Guest gaurav_indian]

The "kachraa" is back from ICL.:mad:

[vvvslaxman]

R Satish and TP singh are two players who i might give a chance. R Satish is devastating.

[Guest gaurav_indian]

R Satish and TP singh are two players who i might give a chance. R Satish is devastating.

I dont want to see players like Badani and Dinesh Mongia in IPL.:mad:

[vvvslaxman]

Badani and Mongia are history.

[Sachinism]

Dinesh Mongia is a superstar

[Lord]

R.Satish is a very good player .excellent bat n a great fielder.Ambati Rayudu , Abhishek Jhunjhunwala n Ibrahim Khaleel r also worth keeping an eye on

[flamy]

I hope DC picks up Rayudu. They are in dire need of local talent.

[vvvslaxman]

Badani is already talking about playing for IPL and winning matches for CSK (like he is welcome)

[umpire]

who are 5 players left with ICL??

[Mr. Wicket]

Smart move from BCCI. This will be fatal for the ICL.

[vipin]

Are there any good pace bowlers coming out of the IPL who have the potential to represent india in the future ?

[vipin]

I think this guy has the potential to be a pace bowling all rounder. Just 19 years of age and played as the lead pacer in the ICL india XI. Has a good batting record too. http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/26490.html

[Lord]

I think this guy has the potential to be a pace bowling all rounder. Just 19 years of age and played as the lead pacer in the ICL india XI. Has a good batting record too. http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/26490.html

he is a left arm spinner.Cricinfo got it wrong. n wat i have seen of his batting even Zak is better