What next for Bangladesh?

With 11 of the 13 players having international experience, it is by far the biggest coup the Zee-bankrolled league has pulled off, and is sure to give a body blow to the game in the south-Asian country, which is anyway struggling to find its feet at the international level.

Be that as it may, Messrs Kapil Dev 038; Co are not going to lose their sleep over it. Ask them whether this coup would devastate Bangladesh cricket and most react with a shrug of the shoulders.

8220;Well, it8217;ll certainly have an effect,8221; admits Himanshu Modi, ICL8217;s business head. 8220;How much? I can8217;t really say.8221;

But former skipper Bashar and his mates insisted on Tuesday evening that there was enough talent to replace them.

8220;It will leave a vacuum, no doubt, for sometime at least,8221; says Bashar, who chose to ignore the Bangladesh Cricket Board summons for a meeting on Tuesday over the ceremony. 8220;But then there8217;s enough depth in Bangladesh cricket.8221;

Shariar Nafees, one of the six players to resign on Sunday, magnanimously looks at the flip side of coin 8212; how his move would actually benefit the up and coming players.

8220;It actually is an opportunity for the youngsters to come in our place and showcase their talent at the international level,8221; he adds.

The League8217;s Executive board member Kiran More, oddly enough, insists the move is going to harm no one. His logic: 8220;The future of the game is club cricket and not international cricket.8221;

Chairman Kapil sounds more compassionate and wishes that Bangladesh cricket keeps doing fine, but refuses to take the blame if doesn8217;t.

8220;I hope it doesn8217;t affect them,8221; he says. 8220;But if it does, we the ICL are not to be blamed.

8220;You see, we don8217;t have any problems if these guys play the ICL and go back home for their national duties. They8217;ve ICC and BCCI boycotted us, we8217;ve not boycotted them,8221; he adds.

Earlier, while launching the Dhaka Warriors, the ninth ICL team, and announcing start the second season of the league, Kapil took a swipe at 8220;a few people in the ICL8221; who were not allowing the ICL to be recognised.

8220;There are only a few people, only a handful of people, who are dividing the game. One man, and I don8217;t want to take his name, is doing all he can so that we remain pariah,8221; he said, making an obvious reference to IPL chief Lalit Modi.

He added that their growth would not stop at the Dhaka Warriors, and that new teams would come up soon.

8220;Last year, we brought Lahore Badshah into our fold, this year we have the Dhaka Warriors. It is only getting bigger and we are working on bringing teams from other countries next year,8221; Kapil added.