February 29, 2008	Friday	Safar 21, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 28: Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson believes the lucrative Indian Twenty20 tournaments could have an adverse effect on the international cricket calendar if they are not managed carefully by national boards.

“The Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Cricket League (ICL) have drawn lot of attention because of the big names and money involved, but the question is: where will they be in two or three years time?” Lawson told reporters on Thursday.

Bankrolled by the Indian cricket board and other Test playing nations, the IPL is set to launch in April with a host of leading international players snapped up by the eight franchised teams for huge amounts of money.

The unofficial ICL, which is backed by India’s largest listed media firm, has also been signing up players on a regular basis and recently contracted around 10 from Pakistan.

Cricket boards have refused to recognise the ICL, however, and Pakistan has banned players from representing the country if they sign up for the league.

Lawson, a former Australian Test paceman, said as long as the Twenty20 tournaments were able to fit into the international calendar it would be fine, otherwise it could be a problem.

“If the IPL and ICL overtakes international cricket then their will be problems and it has to be managed very carefully,” he added.—Reuters