Hemang Badani joins ICL, He's one of the latest to join the list of leading players who have played for india. Hemang Badani who until now used to play for Chennai state will now join ICL knowing he would not be able to represent his state or country.
In an Interview with CNN Ibn news channel, Hemang Badani said he's excited to play along cricketing legends like Brian Lara, Inzamam and other players whom he dreamt of playing.The former Tamil Nadu batsman had played four Tests and 40 one-day internationals in India colours
As Badani Said,
"My tenure with the Indian team could have been longer. I joined the ICL where I will be able to showcase my talent and rub shoulders with international players.
Apart from Hemang Badani, S Vasanth Saravanan, who were in and out of the Tamil Nadu Ranji teams, young medium pacer Rajamani Jesuraj, all-rounder Martin Sanjeev and left-arm spinner Syed Mohammed signed up with the ICL.
As the Inaugural Camp of ICL begins more former Indian and domestic players are joining ICL. All the Very best to Hemang and other team members.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Hemang Badani Joins Indian Cricket League (ICL)
Why EAS Prasanna Joined Indian Cricket League (ICL)
In a Recent Article on CNN IBN, the legendary Off Spinner EAS Prasanna spoke about Reasons of Joining ICL. His contribution to Indian Cricket speaks for himself and his role in ICL would no doubt be huge.
Here are the Brief of the interview.
"When (ICL chairman) Kapil Dev spoke to me he told me that the league wanted me to fulfil one of its prime objectives—developing good spinners. I found that my objective tallied with theirs. So, I liked the idea and joined the league," Prasanna said.
Prasanna, who formed a lethal spin quartret in the 1960s and 1970s along with B S Bedi and B S Chandrasekhar and S Venkatraghavan for India, has been made a member of the multi-million dollar ICL Executive Board.
Prasanna rued that his role in the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy was only token.
"Though I'm based in the same city, my services at the NCA were utilized only upto a bare minimum," said the 67-year-old former Test cricketer, who is attached to the NCA as a bowling consultant.
Prasanna pointed out that despite the short stints, 85 to 90 per cent of the boys he worked with have made it to the state sides. Leggie Piyush Chawla is even playing for India.
"When everybody else shouted that he should be made to play domestic cricket for some more time, only I had contended that he needs to be utilized in the top level. And the results are for all to see," said Prasanna, who picked 189 wickets in 49 matches during a 16-year Test career.
"Despite showing results, they under utilised me. When I raised this issue, I was cold shouldered. So, I thought here is a platform (ICL) where I can dedicate myself to the job of developing spinners for India," he said.
Asked how he could hope to succeed in his mission when most of the players in the ambit of the ICL were either over the hill or members of Ranji Trophy squads, Prasanna said, "That's true. But then what you are talking of is only one step in the ladder. There are many more steps."
Prasanna said he would be given the opportunity in ICL to have long tenures with youngsters on the field.
"My job is not merely an administrative one. It involves mainly on-field work. Just wait and see".
Prasanna was apparently referring to the academy that the ICL has promised to come up with in future.
Read the Entire Article here
Advertisers Eager to tie up with Indian Cricket League
As more and more players join Subhash Chandra’s Indian Cricket League (ICL), the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India has threatened the players. When the matter was raised in Parliament, BCCI President Sharad Pawar reacted sharply in defence.
However, the board may now be forced to shed some of its insouciance. Advertisers and markets, the lifeline of all sporting events, have begun to look at ICL as an opportunity. On an average, international cricket matches featuring India cost between Rs 1-2 lakh for a 10-second commercial spot, depending on the channel and the team India plays. However, for Chandra’s league, the cost is expected to be half of that amount.
The league kicks off in October this year with a tournament of 20-overs-a-side matches that will be telecast on the sports channel owned by Chandra’s Zee Networks, Zee Sports, and the winner will receive $1 million as prize money.
Advertisers looking at the league include consumer durables maker s Videocon and LG, fast-moving consumer goods company Hindustan Unilever and even telecom service providers. These firms have some of the biggest advertising budgets in corporate India.
"We are definitely interested in associating ourselves with ICL. A committee is already in place and negotiations are on," said Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot.
Agrees Rahul Welde, general manager, media services, Hindustan Unilever, “We are exploring ways to associate with the league. If our consumers are interested in the Twenty20 format, we will definitely associate ourselves with the league.”
LG's marketing head Sandeep Tiwari said the league was a vertical integration of cricket into a shorter and faster format. Future Brands CEO Santosh Desai added that anything to do with cricket would always find a market, unless it was mired in a dead format like Ranji and Duleep trophies.
There is also opinion that companies whose budgets are not big enough to sponsor cricket will find another avenue through ICL.
According to Manish Porwal, managing director India (west and south) of Starcom, the media buying outfit of communications giant Publicis Groupe, "The league provides a fantastic opportunity for corporates who want to invest in the game but do not have the mega bucks to bag title sponsorship deals in international cricket.”
He pointed out that 90 per cent of the eyeballs for cricket in India was focused on international cricket, but expressed confidence that this would change. "The domestic cricket does not generate the amount of interest an international match does. ICL will reduce the gap.”
Some express immense faith in Chandra. “He is a man who has a stomach for risks. All his ideas have been successful till now and I am sure that even this league will be successful. I am betting my money on him," said Meenakshi Madhvani, managing partner with media audit firm, Spatial Access.
Others were positive but non-committal. “Our clients are definitely interested and we are in discussions with Zee,” said the head of a media buying agency who did not want to be named. The agency head declined to give specific names, saying that deals were still under discussion, but said there were advertisers across categories.
Even as the advertising industry feels that cricket will never have a problem of money in India, ICL has its task cut out. "Money will pour in but the size of the deals will be smaller. ICL still has to prove itself. It still has to play its first tournament. The new format definitely has takers but the money invested will depend on the performance," said an executive from PDM sports, a leading sports marketing agency.
Source: Business Standard
Indian Cricket League players
Indian Cricket League players
The Indian Cricket League (ICL) took its first step towards success on Monday, when 51 players were introduced at a grand function in Mumbai.
In test cricket, strategies are built session by session. In one day matches, strategies are built over by over. ICL has built its 
strategy player by player. Each of the 51 national and international players was chosen after a nationwide hunt and a stringent selection process. Selections were conducted by a Talent Search Committee comprising of ICL executive board members, coaches and talent scouts of ICL.
Most players have represented their countries and states at the highest level. The international players include Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf Abdul Razzaq, Imran Farhat, Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje. Some Indian players, too, have opted to play for ICL, including Dinesh Mongia, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, JP Yadav, Deep Dasgupta, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, T Kumaran and under-19 captain Ambati Rayudu, all of whom have represented India in the past.
Information Courtesy: ICL Site
Indian Cricket League (ICL) Talent Scout team
Indian Cricket League (ICL) Talent Scout team
ICL Talent Scouts travel extensively looking for gifted cricketers and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the ICL. Some scouts are primarily interested in the selection of prospects, younger players who may require further development by the acquiring team but who are judged to be worthy of that effort and expense for the potential future payoff that it could bring. The scouts selected are former players.
The talent scouts team is a great concept, which will look for prospects and younger players giving them opportunity to play at this competitive level and enhance their skills.
Here's the complete list of the Talent Scout team.
Indian Cricket League (ICL) Coaches Panel
Indian Cricket League (ICL) Coaches Panel.
The ICL Coaches panel include two great players from India, Sandeep Patil and Madal Lal.
Here's a brief overview of the both players and their contribution to Indian cricket.
Madan Lal: He enjoyed great success at the first class level scoring over 10,000 runs and
taking over 600 wickets.
He played 31 Test matches for India, scoring 1,042 runs at an average of 22.65, taking 71 wickets at 40.08 and holding 15 catches.He was a fairly competent lower order bat , often extricating India from tricky situations which earned him the nickname, Maddat Lal by grateful Indian fans.
Sandeep Patil: A dashing batsman and a useful medium-pace bowler, Sandip Patil was a tower of strength to the Indian middle order for many years. His good
looks (he was a pop singer and a film actor), aggressive batsmanship and a penchant for big hits made Patil a natural crowd puller. After retirement, Patil served first as India A coach, then coach of the Indian team, before moving on to take charge of Kenya. He resigned after taking them to the semi-final of the 2003 Wolrd Cup, and returned to India for the next 18 months, but an uncertain future with India A meant that he went back to a minnow, Oman this time, to continue his coaching career. A man of many talents.
Information Courtesy: ICL & Cricinfo
Roles and Responsibilites - Indian Cricket League (ICL)
So what does ICL Board do? The Previous post was all about the ICL Executive board members, what ICL has also done is it clearly defines the role of the board which certainly is not seen or communicated if there is any by BCCI. 3.)and 4.) Coaches and Players: Once the Talent Scouts select the players, these players will then be sent for net practice and training under the Coaches. There are Physiotherapists and Dieticians who will be there to guide the players with the right regimen of diet and exercises, thus helping them excel in cricketer.
Here are the list of the "roles and responsibilities of ICL Board"
The ICL team has four main pillars! as it called with clear definitions of roles and activities for all.
1.) ICL Executive Board: Headed by Kapil Dev (Board Members - More info), The Executive Board plays an important role in creating, managing and running of the Indian Cricket League.
2.) Talent Scouts: The Talent Scouts take pain in going to different parts of the country and searching for the best players to represent the ICL. Their role is very crucial since the players are the ones who can make or break the game and thus selecting the best talent is a key task which is thoughtfully done by the Indian Cricket League�s Talent Scouts.
