Lalu ready to give Railways stadiums for ICL

Even as the Indian board remains inflexible over the Indian Cricket League (ICL) , the federal railway minister and Bihar Cricket Association president Lalu Prasad Yadav today openly backed the ICL, saying the million-dollar tournament could be played in stadiums owned by his ministry.

Railways, the ministry's side in the Ranji Trophy, have won the tournament twice in the past five seasons and own around 50 grounds across the country. That could come in handy for the ICL who face a lack of venues to stage the league. Most cricket grounds are owned by local cricket associations, and the BCCI has discouraged any sort of interaction with the ICL.

Yadav described the ICL as a "good initiative" and said competition was good for the game. "The parallel league is a good thing for those who complain that they were not selected or were ignored. This competition will be good for spotting good players.

"We will definitely allow them to play in our stadiums. We will charge money for it."

The board said yesterday that cricketers associating themselves with other organisations would not be entitled to any benefits from the BCCI or "be connected with any of its activities". Niranjan Shah, the board secretary, had last week threatened to impose life bans on players who joined the unofficial body.