Before the Indian Premier League burst into the scene, the Indian Cricket League tried to make a market of their own. The league was catapulted by Zee owner Subhash Chandra and India’s former World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev. However, it didn’t receive the backing from the BCCI, who thought of launching their own IPL.
The ICL was launched soon after India’s triumph in the 2007 World Cup. The league authorities went on to rope in some big International stars to add a spark in their tourney. However, the BCCI did not recognize the ICL and the Indian board decided that the players who had played in the ICL, will be banned from participation from the IPL.
As the IPL turned out to be big success, the players, who participated in the ICL, careers got affected as they didn’t get a chance to play in the glamorous league. ICL, on the other hand, was ceased after two seasons.
We take a look at five players whose careers were affected due to participation in ICL.
Abdul Razzaq
As ICL players were banned worldwide from playing International cricket, it had a deep impact on Pakistan’s all-rounder Abdul Razzaq. Razzaq was forced to retire from the International circuit as he was omitted from Pakistan’s World T20 2007 squad. However, he later took a U-turn and made a comeback for the national team in 2009 and also played a key role in Pakistan’s triumph of World T20.
Razzaq played for Hyderabad Heroes, who went to lift the trophy in the first season in the ICL. Meanwhile, the right-hander scored 5080 runs in 265 ODIs and scalped 269 wickets in his One-Day career.