By Fakir Hassen, IANS
Johannesburg : Unperturbed by warnings of legal action against them, six South African cricketers have defied Cricket South Africa to join the Indian Cricket League (ICL) that starts Nov 30 in Chandigarh.
Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje, Andrew Hall, Johan van der Wath and Dale Benkenstein have already joined the league while former Proteas paceman Mornantau Hayward has confirmed his participation.
The rebel players have decided to pursue legal action against Cricket South Africa after the controlling body slapped a ban on all players participating in the ICL.
Speaking to the Afrikaans weekly Rapport here Sunday, Van der Wath said he is confident that planning for the ICL series is going well and that it would become an annual event.
Commenting on the acrimonious relationship between the players and Cricket South Africa, Van der Wath said: “It is unfortunate that things had to turn around like this, because we are very keen to continue playing in South Africa.”
Boje said he was looking forward to the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq of Pakistan, Brian Lara of the West Indies and Marvan Atapattu of Sri Lanka.
“I know that the whole world’s eyes will be on us after all that has happened recently. Hopefully we can deliver good performances and show that we still have a lot to offer,” Boje said.
Hall said he is looking forward to the exposure to international talent proving valuable to the young players.
“It will be good for the development of young and up coming players (in India) to be in the same squad as international players. We all have considerable experience at the highest level and would like to share this with them.”
While the six South Africans are united in their fight against the cricket bosses, it will be fierce competition against each other on the field as they will be part of separate teams.
Boje will play for Hyderabad Heroes, Klusener for Kolkota Tigers, Benkenstein for Delhi Jets and Andrew Hall for Chandigarh Lions. Van der Wath and Hayward will both be team-mates again for the Mumbai Champs.