ICL inching towards END?

The BCCI has granted amnesty to 79 ICL players, 12 former players and 11 officials, dealing a potentially crippling blow to the unofficial league.Among the 79 cricketers were Dinesh Mongia, Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Ambati Rayudu.The 12 former cricketers were Sandeep Patil, Erapalli Prasanna, Madan Lal, Rajesh Kamath, Karsan Ghavri, Pranob Roy, Ashok Malhotra, Rajesh Chauhan, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Bharat Reddy, Atul Wassan and Ajit Wadekar.

The BCCI in a statement said that after scrutinising their requests they wrote to the concerned state associations that these players are eligible to play in the domestic tournaments from this year.These players can now also take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in due course of time. The players will also be eligible for national selection though only after a year.

The ICL is now left with five Indian players from its original pool of 84 but there has been no official confirmation on the status of the league's 53 remaining foreign signings.

Justin Kemp, the South Africa allrounder, has become eligible to participate in official cricket after terminating his contract with the ICL.Another 'rebel' player, Andrew Hall , has also approached the board, inquiring about a possible return to the mainstream.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO, Gerald Majola, said Kemp - who represented Hyderabad Heroes - complied with the amnesty offer by the board, where the players associated with the unauthorised league were given till May 31 to end their contracts.Other South African players who had joined the ICL include Nicky Boje, Dale Benkenstein, Andrew Hall and Johan van der Wath.

Meanwhile, senior England officials have confirmed the vast majority of the nation's ICL-contracted players have severed ties with the unsanctioned league.The amnesty now frees up players such as Shane Bond of New Zealand to return to international cricket and even take up contracts in the Indian Premier League.

Only four players -- Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Nazir and Rana Naved -- had submitted proof of terminating their contracts with the Indian Cricket League before the May 31 deadline, Pakistan Cricket Board said on Tuesday.
Bari, who is handling the ICL cases, said while the PCB had cleared Yousuf and Razzaq to play for the national team without any penalties, a decision on opener Imran Nazir would be taken soon.

Kolkata Knight Riders have been actively scouting ICL batsmen and John Buchanan, the franchise coach, believes an influx of players from the unsanctioned Twenty20 league could solve many of his team's problems. While it's not yet clear how or when ICL players will be incorporated into the league, Buchanan said KKR were ready to snap up a number of batsmen whom they have been monitoring for several seasons.
"We've shortlisted about half a dozen Indian batsmen in the ICL. Now we're just waiting to hear back from the IPL as to how they will approach this issue of letting players in - if there will be a draft or an open market."