The Board of Control for Cricket in India has woken up to ICL’s threat and decides to launch its own league Professional Cricket League(PCL) and the person most likely to head and create the format of the league will be Sunil Gavaskar. The dramatic move only heightens the ongoing tussle between the BCCI and the Subhash Chandra-promoted Indian Cricket League (ICL).
Sunil Gavaskar Vs Kapil Dev
With Gavaskar backing the Board’s official league, the rivalry between him and the ICL chairman Kapil Dev looks set to be renewed once again. Nearly 23 years later, Cricket Fans are likely to get a taste of battle once again. This time, the game will be played out in boardrooms, backroom strategy sessions, and team bunkers, not on the ground. The rivalry which started in 1984-85 Test series against England will not die in a hurry. Gavaskar blamed Kapil Dev for the defeat in 2nd Test Match and took out his anger on the famous all-rounder by dropping him for the next match at Calcutta, and what happened next everybody knows. Crowd jeered Gavaskar, and threw oranges at him.
How the League is going to work?
The teams will be a mix of members of the Indian national cricket team, upcoming Indian domestic players as well as some international cricket stars. The game format followed will be twenty20. Each cricket association will float a team that will be a heady mix of domestic, national and international players. Each team will have a sponsor, who will be roped in for a five-year contract, which will aid in financing the building of the league. The whole package will be offered for bidding to broadcasters, who will host the Professional Cricket League.
The BCCI has under its umbrella some of the oldest domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and the Irani Trophy. It would be interesting to see how they adjust one more league.
The BCCI has confirmed that two-three international players will play in each team in the league.
