NZ, Pak May Have Better Squad if ICL Releases Players

New Zealand cricket received a boost in the midst of disappearing victory in the second Test in Napier with word that the ICL was planning to release some of the players, making them eligible to represent their national side once again.

nz players

New Zealand Cricket received a shot in the arm with news that the players had received intimation from the ICL that they would be released from their ICL contracts if they felt the need for a termination.

New Zealand, and their skipper Daniel Vettori, have long held the stand that the cold shoulder given the ICL had alienated their key players and rendered their team virtually redundant and in a need of a plan from scratch to raise the bar. Players such as Shane Bond were the main players who had raised New Zealand’s image on the cricket map drastically.

Without such resources, New Zealand has been severely handicapped and has had to go through a grooming session before plucking talent to hone all over again. It has also meant that New Zealand recalled the likes of Chris Martin and Jeetan Patel as part of their plans against India in the on going Test series to boost the strength of the team composition.

Another team on the wane, Pakistan, has not had much international cricket on its platter due to the obvious concerns over stability in the region and security concerns which were breached earlier this month when the Sri Lankan cricketers came under attack from terrorists during the second Test in Lahore.

The Pakistan team itself has been going through severe ebbs and it has also seen the sacking of Shoaib Mallik as captain of the team and being replaced by Younis Khan. But the team itself has lacked the star power of yore and the primary reason in the last year and a half has been the steady signaling of Pakistan players by the ICL. Bolstered by the numbers, the ICL even fielded the Lahore Badshahs team in its set up consisting of Pakistan players and even had an ICL Pakistani team in its ICL World Series.

But the ICL was forced to abandon its ICL World Series midway last year in the midst of the terror attacks in Mumbai and thereafter, scrap the March edition of their tournaments due to the fact that the Pakistan players could not come to India and with the financial downturn looming large.

With these players out of gainful employment for the moment, the ICL is willing to let go of their players to allow them to play for their national sides. While Pakistan is still toying with the idea of whether to let these players compete at only the domestic level (that too, because a decree of from the court) while New Zealand seem keen to induct their internationally experienced cricketers into the thick of things.

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