The Indian Cricket League (ICL) ....A poor mans IPL

Starts Friday 10th October
15.00 GMT

Friday sees the second edition of this rebel series that is not sanctioned by any of the cricket boards. Last years event was low key and poorly attended, but with the overwhelming success of the officially sanctioned Indian Premier League (IPL) , this years offering will attract a lot more interest.

Apart from the official sanctioning, the other big difference between the ICL and IPL is the standard of players.

The IPL is made up of current international stars and a minimum of four up and coming young Indian crickets under age of 22. The ICL is mostly retired international players and Indian players that were unable to make it into India’s full side.

Also this year sees a team from Bangladesh, the Dhaka Warriors. This caused quite uproar in Bangladesh cricket as 10 of the 12 players have recently played for Bangladesh and their departure has left the country a bit bare.

The Dhaka Warriors will do reasonably well, especially as the they will be used to their home pitch more then their opponents, however I cannot see them finish in the top 4.

There are two teams that I feel have the right balance and experience for this 20/20 format and I am reasonably confident that one of them will win it outright.

LAHORE BADSHAS

Very strong team, basically a Pakistan X1 with recent proven class players. Inzamam Ul Haq, Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Azhar Mahmood, Saqlain Mustaq and Mustaq Ahmed to name a few are a formidable outfit. They finished runners up last year, but they can go one better this year.

CHANDIGARH LIONS

Great balanced squad including Chris Cairns, Andrew Hall, Lou Vincent, and Dinesh Mongia. An excellent mixture of big hitters and bowlers who know how to vary their pace. They will a force to reckon with and I believe they will pose the greatest threat to Lahore Badshas.

So what the bet?

Let’s play the outright win market and back both of these teams for the following stakes:

BACK Lahore Badshas for 3 points @ 4.5  Sportingbet, Stan James, Ladbrokes, William Hill
BACK Chandigarh Lions for 2 points @ 8.0 Sportingbet

Join me, and though the ICL maybe a poor mans IPL, we could get rich backing these two teams.

Bigjoe