DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP):THE BANGLADESH Cricket Board (BCB) will ban rebel players from playing for the country for 10 years if they take part in any unsanctioned tournament, an official said yesterday.
The decision came at an emergency meeting to formulate a response to the exodus of 13 first-class players to the Indian Cricket League (ICL), said Maj. Gen. Sinha Ibn Jamali, president of the BCB, after the meeting.
"The decision will be effective equally for contracted players or coaches if they participate in any cricket tournament, without any approval of the ICC (International Cricket Council) or the BCB," Jamali said.
The players, including several Test players and a former Test skipper, have joined the newly formed Dhaka Warriors team that will compete in the ICL - a Twenty20 league that is not internationally recognised because it runs in competition to the officially sanctioned Indian Premier League (IPL).
The ICL had said earlier that the players were free to play for Bangladesh, leaving the BCB to decide the status of the players.
"We have not yet accepted the unilateral resignation by the players," Gazi Ashraf Lipu, a BCB official, said. "We have called an emergency meeting to discuss the fate of the players, especially after reports they have formed an ICL team."
Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar will lead the Dhaka Warriors, which will be the second ICL team outside India after the Lahore Badshahs. The team also includes recent internationals Aftab Ahmed, Alok Kapali, Shahriar Nafees, Farhad Reza, Dhiman Ghosh and Mosharraf Hossain.
The team, which will be coached by former India player Balwinder Sandhu, also includes four past Bangladesh players - retired left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique, pacemen Tapash Baishya, Manjurul Islam and Mohammad Sharif. The others are Golam Mahbud, a reserve wicketkeeper and Mahbubul Karim, part of the Bangladesh Academy team currently touring Sri Lanka.
The loss of so many top players would devastate the Bangladesh national team which already struggles to be competitive against top international sides.
The defection to the ICL shocked former Bangladesh cricket players who have urged the rebels to change their mind.
"What the rebel players have done is wrong," said Aminul Islam, a former national team captain, "They should place national interest ahead of their personal gains."
