WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have agreed to allow players returning from the ‘rebel’ Indian Cricket League (ICL) to be selected for their national team with immediate effect.
The NZC board voted yesterday to welcome back any returning players without any stand-down period on the condition they had severed all ties with the unofficial ICL.
“Like other Boards around the world we have had to clarify our position on how to deal with former ICL players who wish to return to international cricket,” Vaughan said in a statement.
“We consider ours is a reasonable policy. Individual players need to make their own decisions over their future with the ICL.
“Today’s decision is by no means a guarantee of selection for any player — all former ICL players would need to earn their way back into the national side on merit.”
The decision means New Zealand’s former ICL players would be considered for inclusion in the national team as early as August, when they tour Sri Lanka.
“Many of the ICL players have had limited cricket over the past 12 months and there has been no ICL cricket played since 2008,” Vaughan said.
“The earliest time former ICL players would be eligible for selection is in August, which would amount to almost 12 months since the last ICL event.
“Taking all these factors into account the Board felt there was little justification for a further stand-down period.”
New Zealand lost nine international players to the ICL and Vaughan said they were keen to get all of their best players back. Vaughan said pacemen Shane Bond and Darryl Tuffey had both already indicated their willingness to return to the New Zealand national side.
“There’s no question that New Zealand suffered heavily from the ICL,” he said. “Our national side lost a significant number of top players.”
The ICL is a privately run Twenty20 competition held in India.
It features several former international players from around the world but is not officially sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.
Most international players who signed up were banned from selection by their national boards after complaints from the Indian cricket board (BCCI), which runs its own fully-sanctioned twenty20 competition.
Earlier this week, the BCCI agreed to grant amnesty to welcome back their players who had signed with the ICL, paving the way for other countries to follow suit.
