Date:20/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/20/stories/2008102056211800.htm

Sport - Cricket

Legal recourse would be the last option: Kapil

Principal Correspondent

Ahmedabad: Kapil Dev said that legal recourse to get official recognition for the Indian Cricket League would be the last option. “Eventually and finally we will have to do that. Above all there is law,” the ICL chairman told the media here on Sunday evening.

Kapil expressed anguish over the BCCI terming the talks with the ICL as a failure. “Hardly anything came out of that meeting. I wasn’t there, other officials met but they (BCCI) said shut down the ICL and then we will talk. Once they said that, what’s the point in having discussions? We have written to the ICC, there is still 21 days to go and after that we will decide our future course,” Kapil said.

Kapil also questioned the ‘discriminatory attitude’ towards ICL. “More cricket is good for the youngsters. Why should we have a monopoly? Would you be happy if there is just one Government School in India? Wouldn’t you want to see many more schools? ICL is something like that, it gives cricket education to a vast majority of our youth and I feel sad to see that they have been banned from playing for their States and our nation. What if there is a Sachin (Tendulkar), M.S. Dhoni and Rahul (Dravid) amidst them? Would you say that such talent should be banned? I don’t understand this partition of cricketers which is something akin to what was practised in South Africa many years back,” Kapil said.