Cricket Australia, BCCI in endorsement tussle for IPL

The Indian Premier League promoted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seems to be heading for a showdown with Cricket Australia over participation of some key players in the fancied Indian Twenty20 league which starts on April 18, 2008.

Cricket Australia (CA) says its players should not be endorsing IPL sponsors, which could possibly clash with competing CA sponsors. The matches are likely to be televised in Australia.

While the BCCI does not seem to be too concerned about the Aussie players, CA is taking a tough stand, but the former is getting solid backing from unusual quarters – Australian players including Ponting.

Ponting says it would be unfair on Cricket Australia's part to prevent Australian players from participating in IPL.

Another issue with Cricket Australia is Adam Gilchrist's retirement.

Though he has hung up his boots, Gilchrist's contract with CA ends only mid-2008. So it remains to be seen if CA would allow Gilchrist to play in the Indian Premier League.

As per BCCI's pact with other boards, a retired player should have a cooling period of 2 years to be able to participate in IPL. This clause was inserted to prevent players from retiring just to exploit big bucks of IPL. CA also wants its existing players to be given preference but BCCI is against this due to obvious reasons.

No IPL team would now like to have Andrew Symonds in their line-up after the Harbhajan row. Australian players are now hoping that their upcoming Pak tour is called off for security reasons so that they could participate in the 44-day inaugural edition. Australia's Pakistan tour is scheduled to start in March 2008.

Meanwhile, the Australian side is also miffed that some Aussie players who have signed up for the rebel Indian Cricket League has been blacklisted by Cricket Australia.

Spin wizard Shane Warne, who himself has signed up for IPL, has said that it was ridiculous on Cricket Australia's part to ban talented players like Shane Bond for breakaway Indian Cricket League, promoted by Essel Group.

Meanwhile, ICL is also on a recruitment spree in Australia. ICL now has Micheal Bevan, Ian Harvey and Stuart Law on its rolls from Australia, apart from Dean Jones, who is ICL executive board director.