Shah: ICL participants face life ban

Niranjan Shah: 'Players who take part in the ICL will never be eligible to play for the country again' © AFP

Player signing up with the Indian Cricket League (ICL) will be banned for life, Niranjan Shah, secretary of the Indian board, has said.

"Our stand is very clear. Players who take part in the ICL will never be eligible to play for the country again. It is up to the players to decide what they want to do", Shah told PTI in Mumbai.

Asked whether the ban would apply to players yet to represent the country, Shah said: "Definitely. It is applicable to all players," adding that domestic cricket would also be out of bounds for such players.

Shah said that the BCCI would take a decision on Kapil Dev's chairmanship of the National Cricket Academy at its general body meeting on August 21.

Kapil had joined the ICL's executive board as its chairman and has been at odds with the BCCI ever since. He had called recent remarks made by Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president, about the ICL, "shameful".

"If the board thinks that only the national XI can attract crowds, then it should stop conducting any domestic tournament," Kapil told PTI.

The ICL, which is scheduled for September, will feature six teams playing Twenty20 matches. Each team will comprise four international players, two Indian players, and eight upcoming players. Brian Lara is the only confirmed player on the ICL list.