Sport - Cricket

‘Treat ICL as employment opportunity’

— Photo: AFP

Marvan Atapattu.

Gurgaon: Asserting that boards around the world cannot bar players from earning a living through the Indian Cricket League, former Sri Lanka captain Marvan Atapattu on Monday said the venture should be looked upon as an employment opportunity rather than a challenge to the existing set-up.

“I don’t think ICL should be blocked in any way. In fact, we need more such initiatives to groom talent. It should be treated as a career chosen by a cricketer. They (the boards) are not doing any good by putting sanctions,” Atapattu, who retired from international cricket after the recent Test series against Australia, said.

Atapattu, captain of the Delhi Jets team, took a dig at the BCCI-backed Indian Premier League saying, “IPL has dragged in all the current players but ICL also has fresh talent on display. That is where the difference lies.”

The veteran batsman, who had a fallout with Sri Lankan selectors, said he continues to stand by his “muppets headed by a joker” comment but rejected suggestions that the tiff had any bearing on his decision to give up international cricket.

“Nothing of that sort made me retire. I knew when I wanted to go. Halfway through the innings during the second Test at Hobart, I knew I would retire. I decided to quit because I did not want to hang around too much as the system was just not working,” he said.— PTI

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu