In what a great moral victory for the nineteen Pakistan players associated with the Indian Cricket League (ICL), a provisional Sindh High Court has suspended the ban on ICL affiliated players from playing domestic cricket in Pakistan. Bu the ICC is making new rules to authorize cricket.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were sent a notice last week taking legal action on behalf of the banned players. Now the players are excited at the prospect of playing domestic cricket and hopefully, international cricket in the not so long future. Earlier most the players had participated in the ICL under the Lahore Badshahs team led by Inzamam ul Haq and coached by Moin Khan to win the Twenty20 tournament last year.
While their international opportunities depend on the selectors, the stay suspension opens up a world of opportunities, going against the BCCI’s fervent attempts to squash the futures of all those associated with the ICL, ‘rebel league’, and the ICC towing the BCCI line.
The ICC though has made changes, including leaving it to respective boards to recognize or de recognize unauthorized cricket. The situation with the ICL though will come about after the BCCI, ICL and ICC officials collude after the ICL had approached the ICC for due recognition at least on the grounds of the nature of being exhibitional in nature.
There are those who doubt the moves and motives of the ICC when the likes of Shashank Manohar and Lalit Modi are on the panel to decide the fate of the ICL> But it appears that Sharad Pawar’s close association with Zee’s Subash Chandra Goel will see the ICL head Himansu Modi also in a meeting that is likely to turn out in a compromise that will ensure that the ICL will be recognized in some format on a more domestic level. People remain optimistic of it, even as hopes have been slim since these players signed up for the ICL.
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