Even as the BCCI's flip-flop over the Indian Cricket League continues,
Railway Minister and Bihar Cricket Association President Lalu Prasad today openly
backed the ICL, saying the million-dollar tournament could be played on Railways
stadiums.
Prasad described the ICL as a "good initiative" and said competition
was good for the game.
"It is a good initiative. It will give rise to competition
and good players will be encouraged. 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," he said on the sidelines of a
press conference at the Rail Bhawan.
"We will definitely allow them to play on our stadiums. We will charge
little money for it," he added.
Asked if it was a fight between BCCI President Sharad Pawar
and Zee Telefilms' Chairman Subhash Chandra, the Minister evaded the question,
saying "the competition is always good as it would produce better players".
The BCCI, in a somewhat vague statement, yesterday said any
person associating himself with "any other organisation" (read: ICL)
would not be entitled to derive any benefits from BCCI or "be connected
with any of its activities".
Earlier, BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah had last week
threatened to impose life bans on players aligning with the rebel body but Pawar
had said there was no confrontation between the BCCI and the ICL.
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