By IANS
Kolkata : Bengal cricket was hit hard Monday with Subhash Chandra’s breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL) signing eight players from its ranks. Skipper Deep Dasgupta along with a host of star performers for the current Ranji Trophy runners-up signed on the dotted line for the rebel League, a multi-million dollar venture of the Essel group.
Other players from Bengal who joined ICL are all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla, batsmen Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Subhomoy Das and Rohan Gavaskar, bowlers Shiv Sagar Singh and Eklak Ahmed and wicket-keeper Subhajit Paul.
Jhunjhunwala, who was in the list of probables for the Twenty20 World Cup, was the biggest surprise.
The dashing right-hander said, “The offer from ICL is too good to resist. And apart from the money the League is also providing us an opportunity to rub shoulders with the best players in the world.”
But the Bengal cricket fraternity expressed complete surprise at Jhunjhunwala’s decision.
A Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) official said: “Abhishek had a very bright future. A few good knocks this season and he could have made it big for India. He had the correct attitude and temperament. But now there is a big question mark over his future.”
Shukla, who played a few one-dayers for India a few years back, said, “I am playing in the domestic circuit for nearly 10 years. But I am only 26 and when the national selector (Ranjiv Biswal) calls you an oldie, you feel there is something wrong. ICL is a golden opportunity and I am ready to grab it with both hands.”
CAB has taken a cautious approach over the matter. Its joint secretary Amitabha Banerjee said, “It’s true that we have lost eight of our most senior players. But this can be a boon for Bengal cricket. We are the national under-22 champions and we will give the junior boys a chance.
“We will concentrate on building a team for the future. With all these big names playing for us we never got a chance to experiment with our side. Now the juniors will get a chance and am sure they will grab it.”
Banerjee said, “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has certain set directives and as an affiliated unit we have to follow those. All the players who have joined ICL will be barred from using the facilities provided by the CAB. So the Eden Gardens, our indoor training facilities and the gymnasium is out of bounds for these players.”
Newly appointed Bengal coach Bharat Arun also said: “It will be a challenge for the newer corps and also the few seniors who are left. It will be a challenge but I am ready for it.”
With eight of the seniors changing ranks, India probable Manoj Tewari is expected to lead Bengal at the Moin-ud-doula Trophy in Hyderabad next month. Accompanying him in all probability will be paceman Ranadeb Bose and fringe players like Safi Ahmed and Rana Chowdhury along with a group of under-22 stars.