By Veturi Srivatsa, IANS
New Delhi : Media reports before Brian Lara’s arrival in Mumbai to join the Indian Cricket League (ICL) carnival suggested that the Indian Premier League officials bent backwards to wean away the great West Indian batsman. Some even said that the highest Test and first-class scorer had decided to ditch the ICL, citing his late arrival as a sign of his wavering mind.
Now it transpires the reports were partly true as Lara indeed toyed with the idea of pulling out of the ICL, but could not muster courage to face the legal battles with the promoters of the Twenty20 event, Essel-Zee Group.
Lara did seek an appointment and meet the brain behind the IPL Lalit Modi in London to explore possibilities of joining the IPL at this late stage when the ICL was about launch its first edition of the extravaganza.
Modi, the vice-president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is believed to have told Lara that he should fight his legal battles with the ICL himself and once he terminates his contract, the IPL will only be too happy to have him in its fold.
Lara, however, wanted the IPL to provide indemnity for all his legal battles as the ICL was bound to engage him in a long-drawn-out litigation if he reneges on his contract. But Modi was unwilling to indemnify him.
Lara had been explained how Mohammad Yousuf, who pulled out of his contract, is being helped by his Pakistan Cricket Board with both legal and financial assistance to fight the ICL. Unfortunately, Lara is retired and he cannot hope to get any help from the West Indies board.
The IPL wanted to examine Lara’s contract and see if they could take on the ICL legally, but the superstar obviously did not want to go through the hassle and decided to wait for an opportune moment to use his bargaining power.
All those who have joined the ICL are either retired or see little hope of playing for their countries, and so are not bound by any contract with their boards.
This was exactly what the BCCI officials — joint secretary M.P. Pandove and spokesman Rajeev Shukla — had told an intrepid reporter when he asked them whether Lara would be admitted to the IPL. The answer that overseas players reneging on their contracts with the ICL were welcome was, in fact, in the context of Lara and not all overseas players.
The IPL executive board’s stand is clear: none of the international cricketers the ICL has signed, except Lara, has enough mass appeal to add glamour to the IPL. Whether they are right or wrong can be found out once the ICL show gets under way Friday.