By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
New Delhi : Former India all-rounder Madan Lal Tuesday said his signing the upcoming breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL) of Zee TV would not terminate his contract with its rival television network India Today.
Madan Lal, who has been appointed Delhi coach for the six-team ICL beginning in October, is an expert on two India Today channels, Aaj Tak in Hindi and Headlines Today in English, which are competitors to the Zee group.
"No, my ICL contract with Zee will not affect my association with my television work for India Today. I will continue to appear on their channels … that has been clarified," Madan Lal told IANS.
A former India coach, Madan Lal has never been on the wrong side of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). But it seems that Kapil Dev, his close friend and the lone World Cup-winning captain who had earlier joined as ICL executive board chairman, influenced his decision.
BCCI has warned all its affiliated associations to keep rebel players/officials away from the official tournaments. It has also threatened that it would stop giving pension to retired Test players and Test umpires if they aligned with ICL.
Zee Monday announced that it had signed on Madan Lal, his former India teammate Balwinder Singh Sandhu as director ICL academies and former West Indies captain Brian Lara as captain one of the city teams. It also said that Pranab Roy and Rajesh Chauhan, both former Test players, would act as ICL talent scouts.
Earlier, former India players Kiran More and Sandeep Patil had signed for ICL along with ex-England captain Tony Greig and Dean Jones of Australia.
In the coming days, Zee would be announcing the much-awaited names of the players – most likely the recently retired ones from India and abroad.
ICL is designed on the lines of Australian media mogul Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket that shook the cricket world in the late 1970s.
Madan Lal also said that he was not bothered about the Rs.35,000 monthly pension that he gets from the BCCI for being a former Test player.
"Did I go to them asking for the pension? If they want to stop they can. I am not employed by them," thundered the former Punjab and Delhi player.
Madan Lal, however, said he was not sure of his exact role with the ICL, which will organise Twenty20 matches based on 20 overs per side.
"I haven't got the blue print as yet. I have just said 'yes' to Zee. I don't have any more details," he claimed.
Madan Lal, who also runs an academy in Delhi, scored 1,042 runs and took 71 wickets in 39 Tests between 1974 and 1986. In 67 one-day internationals, he made 401 runs and 73 wickets.
He never possessed express pace, but was known for his never-give-up attitude, and formed a potent force with Kapil Dev and Karsan Ghavri. He played an important role in the World Cup triumph in 1983.