The Board ignored us, say ICL players

It is understandable for those who are on the wrong side of 30 and have struggled for years in the domestic circuit to switch loyalties. This is also their way of letting the Board of Control for Cricket in India know what had frustrated them for years.

Jai Prakash Yadav, 33, was sacked from the Indian team in 2005. “The selectors didn’t even bother to tell me how bad I was or where I was going wrong,” he said.

Dheeraj Jadhav (29) came as close as Gautam Gambhir or Aakash Chopra to play a Test for India with extremely impressive performances in 2004-05. “I wasn’t even given a single chance,” he said.

For players like them, the ICL is a breather. “What difference does it make — BCCI or ICL? There’s no hope of playing for India anyway,” they would say.

But what came as a shock was that youngsters like Ambati Rayudu, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Abu Nacheem Ahmed, Ali Murtuza and Alfred Absolem defected. They are aged between 17 to 21 years, have been part of India Under-19 or the India A teams and their careers haven’t even hit the runway yet.

They have signed contracts worth lakhs of rupees for the next three years. And they say if they get this kind of money along with the chance of playing with international greats, then what is wrong?

Uttar Pradesh’s Shalabh Shrivastava, who recently joined Railways, is also with the ICL now. “They are paying me for three years what I would have probably earned in the Ranji Trophy in the next six to seven years,” he said, “Who wants to play for the Plate Division anyway? Do the selectors come to watch a single match?” he asked.

Jhunjhunwala comes from a business family. “I looked at two things — money and the opportunity of playing with good players. ICL allows you to prosper in both aspects,” he said, adding it was not a difficult decision.

For Rayudu, the ICL is a boon. Once hailed as India’s most promising batsman, he fell out with his local association, the Hyderabad Cricket Association, and was forced to shift to Andhra Pradesh association. Moreover, his career has been plagued with injuries.
Where is Yousuf?
Karachi: Pakistan’s top batsman Mohammad Yousuf has done the disappearing act, with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) desperately trying to contact him and persuade him to come back from the Indian Cricket League. PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said today that efforts had been made to trace Yousuf, but to no avail.
“We don’t know where he is. His phones are all switched off,” he said. . (PTI)