Date:24/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/24/stories/2007072460251900.htm

Sport

Lara joins ICL

Principal Correspondent

— Photo: AP

Brian Lara.

NEW DELHI: West Indian great Brian Lara on Monday joined the Indian Cricket League, giving the venture a huge thrust in its effort to promote the Twenty20 version of the game in the country.

Apart from Lara, the ICL also roped in former Test and 1983 World Cup stars Madan Lal and Balwinder Singh Sandhu as coaches. Madan will coach the Delhi team while Sandhu has been appointed the Director of Academies.

Lara returns

In a statement released by the ICL, Lara said, “It gives me great pleasure to join the Indian Cricket League. You can’t keep me too far from cricket and hence I return to the game in this exciting new avatar that the Essel Group has launched.

“I look forward to playing with promising youngsters from India and elsewhere along with some of my illustrious international counterparts who I’ve shared many an exciting moment with on the field. I feel honoured to captain one of the ICL’s city teams and hope to use my experience in taking that team to victory in the inaugural ICL Trophy.”

“I have taken up the job mainly because of my passion for coaching. The BCCI is not keen on Indian coaches and I too have to survive. I know where the problems lie and I am keen to be associated with the game which is all about power and speed,” said Madan Lal.

‘Same job’

On his move to support the ICL, which is also considered as a parallel league by many, Sandhu said. “I will be doing the same job as I have been doing for the last ten years. I have high regards for Kapil (Dev) and am happy to be associated with this venture. I am convinced I have a role to play here.”