By IANS
Mumbai : Taking a tough stance, the Indian cricket board Tuesday sacked former India captain Kapil Dev as chairman of the National Cricket Academy for joining the rebel Indian Cricket League. The board, in a move to stem further exodus, also announced a hefty pay hike for domestic cricketers.
The decision to sack Kapil, who presently heads the Zee TV-promoted ICL’s executive board, was taken at a special general body meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) here.
The BCCI has also barred defecting players who aligned with ICL from playing in any domestic or international fixtures.
BCCI has replaced Kapil with NCA vice-Chairman Ajay Shirke who has been appointed acting chairman. A new appointment for the post will be made at the annual general meeting Sep 28, board sources said.
The BCCI decision comes a day after the ICL announced its list of 51 players, including star attractions like West Indian batsman Brian Lara, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, and three of his team mates – Mohammed Yusuf, Imran Farhat and Abdul Razzaq.
South African cricketers Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje were among the seven overseas recruits for the multi-million dollar league.
BCCI sources told IANS Tuesday that Kapil’s removal would take effect immediately and all the other players who have joined the ICL bandwagon would be banned from playing for India or their respective state teams.
In what is seen as an apparent bid by BCCI to counter the threats thrown up by media baron Subash Chandra, the board also announced a slew of monetary benefits for domestic cricketers.
Making it clear that defectors would be barred from playing for the country and at the domestic level, the board enhanced the match rates of Ranji Trophy players to Rs.35,000 per day from the present fee of Rs.16,000 per day and the total prize money for domestic tourneys to Rs.420 million.