Does the BCCI look at the Indian Cricket League as some sort of threat?
Not at all! The BCCI doesn’t encourage any unauthorised tournament. And when we feel that some tournament is unauthorised and not good for the BCCI, we take an independent view. It’s as simple as that. By the same token, the BCCI has encouraged the Buchi Babu, Sheesh Mahal and several other such cricket tournaments for many years now, hasn’t it? Yes, but they all came through BCCI-affiliated cricket associations. And they all have been running with the blessings of their respective state associations. So once a tournament is approved of by a state association the BCCI also recognises it. So what’s the BCCI’s stand on the ICL? We can’t encourage it, let alone recognise it, because it’s unauthorised. And whosoever is associated or involved with the BCCI in some way or the other — administrators and players alike — have nothing whatsoever to do with the ICL. But the ICL has begun to hire star cricketers by offering them undisclosed fees Yes, I’ve read about it in the media. But so what?
