Indian Cricket League
The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was a short-lived cricket league that ran from 2007 to 2009. It was sponsored by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, a media company. The ICL had two seasons, featuring four international teams and nine domestic teams from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The matches were played in the Twenty20 format, which was new and exciting at the time. The ICL also planned to have a 50-over tournament, but it never happened.
| Sport | Cricket |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Ceased | 2009 |
| Divisions | 9 |
| No. of teams | 10 city teams, 4 international teams |
| Country | India Pakistan Bangladesh World XI |
| Last champion(s) | Lahore Badshahs (2008/09) |
The ICL faced significant opposition from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC). The BCCI did not approve of the ICL and launched its own rival league, the Indian Premier League (IPL), in 2008. The IPL was more popular and successful than the ICL, attracting more players, sponsors and fans.
The BCCI also banned the players who joined the ICL from playing for their national teams or in any other official tournaments. This was a big blow for the ICL, as many of its players were former or current stars of international cricket. Some of them tried to return to the BCCI fold, but they had to face legal and financial hurdles. Combined with pressure from the more popular IPL, these issues caused the ICL to collapse in 2009, ending its brief and controversial existence.