By IANS
New Delhi : India's only World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev said that he would not quit the Indian Cricket League (ICL), even if he had to sacrifice the post of National Cricket Academy (NCA) chairman.
"I have already sent my reply to them (Indian cricket board). They can remove me from the NCA if they want to," Kapil told a TV news channel in an interview.
Kapil earned the wrath of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by joining Essel Group's rebel ICL as chairman of its executive board.
At its recent working committee meeting, the BCCI made it clear that it would have nothing to with the ICL and nobody would be allowed to work with both the organisations.
BCCI treasurer N. Srinivasan had said: "It is up to him (Kapil) to decide with whom he wants to stay. He can't be with both the bodies at the same time."
BCCI also wrote a letter to Kapil asking him not to accept the ICL post.
"They (BCCI) only wanted me to contribute to the game of cricket and when I am doing so they cannot challenge me. If I can do something for the game and the young cricketers through Indian Cricket League, I will not budge," he maintained.
Kapil was also taken aback by the fact that the BCCI has decided to stop the pension to former cricketers who join the ICL.
"I did not go to them asking for pension and if they want to stop it, what can I do? Let them stop it," he said.
Asked whether he should have sought BCCI's permission before joining ICL, Kapil said: "I don't need to ask the BCCI for every small thing."
Recently, former wicketkeeper and ex-chairman of selection committee Kiran More and ex-batsman Sandeep Patil have also joined the ICL board. Australian Dean Jones and former England captain Tony Greg are also a part of the ICL.
Essel Group chief Subhas Chandra launched the ICL in April, promising $1 million prize money and names like Brian Lara, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, all recently retired from international cricket, are being linked to the event.