The challenges the ICL faces are daunting.  By announcing its intentions early the ICL gave the BCCI lots of time to react, and react they did.  The BCCI was stung into action with this challenge to its monopolistic grip over Indian cricket and quickly started throwing one road block after another trying to stymie the ICL.

So far the BCCI has instructed all its member bodies, i.e. domestic first class teams, to blacklist any youngster who dares to join ICL and prevent him from ever playing for his domestic team, and therefore for India as well, basically destroying their official careers. 

Next, it threatened to cut off the pension benefits of all ex-cricketers who had the temerity to join the ICL in whatever capacity, coach, mentor, talent scout, match official, etc.   The BCCI also instructed all member bodies to refuse to allow the ICL to use any of the established cricket stadiums, at the risk of being blacklisted for future ODIs and Test matches, if they failed to comply.  But these moves simply were a stop-gap. 

The biggest threat the BCCI faced was to their revenue stream from television rights of matches they organized.   After dragging its feet on the whole idea of Twenty20 cricket, where it even threatened not to send a team to the ICC’s inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, haughtily saying that India didn’t need Twenty20, as stadiums were packed even for regular fifty over one-day matches, the BCCI finally sent a team minus its big names to the tournament.  India unexpectedly ended up winning the tournament, and sensing a huge opportunity to turn the tables on the ICL, the BCCI hastily organized a ticker-tape parade in pouring rain to squeeze maximum mileage from the surprise bonanza.   

Meanwhile BCCI also announced the formation of a copy-cat league named the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the added twist that the teams in this league would be franchises owned by private entities (either business groups or even individuals).  Predictably the Babus at BCCI who have about as much expertise in running things in a business or professional manner, as they have of actually having played the game they control, i.e. absolutely zero, then hired a Western consultant to fly in and provide a ready made package for the creation of the IPL.  The player contracts generated by the Western consultants have been trashed by several sources, including Daniel Vettorri, the New Zealand captain, as the worst professional contracts he’s ever encountered.

The BCCI has also put immense pressure on other national cricket bodies to prevent their players from joining the ICL and asked them to ban any player who did so.  So far the other Asian boards, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have followed the BCCI diktat.  South Africa also seems to be cracking down on players who join the ICL.  As for the the other boards, Australia, England, New Zealand, West Indies, who coincidentally have the strongest Players Unions, have not agreed to the BCCI’s request to ban players.  In the case of the West Indies, it would have been particularly hard for them to do so, as they have agreed to allow another private individual, Alan Stanford a billionaire from the United States, to bankroll the board, on condition that it recognizes his private Twenty20 tournament, which they were only too glad to do. 

Finally, the BCCI has gone about signing up International “Stars” for the IPL itself, poor contracts and all. It has done so despite not yet having announced any plans for who will own the “franchises” or how the players signed up by BCCI will fit into that scheme of things.  Their only motive it seems is to throw money at “Stars” so as to keep them away from ICL.   

The latest and most underhanded move that the BCCI has made, is to announce that it is willing to sign up any “International” player, but not any “Indian” player, who signed up with ICL but wants to switch to IPL.  Apparently the Babus in BCCI have never heard of the concept of honoring a contract, or of the tort of interference with a contract, which their announcement clearly is.  If the ICL were to seek damages from the BCCI in a court of law, they would certainly have a very good case.   

Additionally the IPL’s motives are very clear, they are not interested in promoting young Indian cricketers at all as the only Indian players signed up by the IPL are Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.  Players who are all on the wrong side of 30 and some nearing 40.  Not a single Indian youngster has been signed up. 

Despite these huge obstacles thrown in its path by the BCCI, the ICL has steadfastly withstood them and gone about its business.  It has brought in a lot of professionalism in the way it has organized its cricket tournament.  Despite being refused stadiums to play matches in, ICL has managed to lease a stadium in Panchkula and transformed a smallish stadium with minimal facilities to a near international quality stadium with a pavilion, media center, flood lights, locker-room facilities, etc.  The ICL has also roped in a lot of big names in Indian cricket, sincere characters who were not allowed to contribute to Indian cricket because they didn’t play the political games necessary to work for the BCCI, including Ajit Wadekar, Erappalli Prasanna, Sandip Patil, Madan Lal, Balwinder Sandhu, etc. to work in various capacities for ICL. 

For the average Indian cricket fan there are so many reasons to support the ICL instead of the BCCI, including the classic rooting for the underdog and rooting against the “Evil Empire” that is embodied by the monopolistic, hide-bound BCCI which has stunted the growth of Indian cricket with its semi-feudal modus operandi for over seven decades.  Of course the odds are stacked heavily against the ICL, with BCCI doing its level best to undermine it at every step. 

It is a minor miracle that its tournament has even seen the light of day.  But by coming this far, the ICL has thrown down the gauntlet and now is ready to take on the BCCI at its own game.  Zee Television through its vast network of channels is about to insure that the first ICL tournament is viewed on as many as 25 channels in India and overseas.  BCCI must be hoping that the second Test at Kolkata provides a few thrills otherwise there could be huge number of TV sets switching from that to the brash new Twenty20 tournament. 

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