Dubai, August 06, 2007 -  The Indian Cricket League (ICL) has decided to challenge the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and are even prepared to go to court to protect the rights of the players who have been threathened with a ban for playing in the league.

Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president earlier warned that cricketers who will play in this rebel league series would be not be allowed to play for India.

Elaborating on Pawar's statement the BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah revealed that any player, young or old, who aligns himself with the ICL would be banned for life.

"It is an unfortunate decision by the BCCI but we will go ahead with our plans," an ICL spokesperson told Gulf News via email.

The stage is now set for a huge battle between the BCCI and ICL and would put to test the powers of the body that controls the game in India.

The ICL has sought legal advise.

According the feed back from the ICL legal experts, "Pawar's threat to stop players from representing the country cannot be implemented due to the fact that as per the government records the BCCI is a private body and that no private body can stop a citizen from representing his country."

A court battle could lead to a situation where the BCCI may not be able to name their teams as India in international tournaments if they ban Indians from playing for the country.

The BCCI could have taken action if their body is a government organisation with representatives of the government in the body. Right now only the Indian government has the right to ban a player from representing the country.

Full Story: http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Cricket/10144300.html