ICL unveils list of 50 players; Klusener, Boje new attraction

Mumbai, Aug 20 (UNI) Bringing the curtain down over its players recruitment drive, the Indian Cricket League (ICL) today unveiled its roster of 50 cricketers for the first season of its multi-million dollar league which includes former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and dependable batsman Mohammad Yousuf, besides South African Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje.

Apart from them Inzy and Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, who announced his retirement from international cricket today, and Imran Farhat were the other Pakistani players pitted to be signed up for the private league which kick starts in October-November this year.

The Indian players who have joined the rebel league include internationals J P Yadav, Deep Dasgupta, Dinesh Mongia and Reetinder Sodhi, besides promising youngsters Ambati Rayudu and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala.

The announcement was made at a function attended by, among others, Kapil Dev, chairman of the the ICL executive board, Sandeep Patil, Kiran More and Erapalli Prasanna. The ICL's business head Himanshu Mody was also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Kapil Dev lauded the courage shown by the young cricketers.

''These are players who take pride in playing for themselves and not be pushed by someone else,'' the 1983 World Cup winning skipper said.

Kapil further made it clear that the ICl would not stop the players from playing for their country if choosen or elsewhere.

''If these boys are chosen for the country, we would be the first to release them as there is no bigger pride than playing for the country,'' he said.

He also informed that the ICL will start with the Twenty20 format this year, but as the League grows, they intend to include 50 overs matches as well as three-day games in their repertoire.

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