September 17, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 16, 1429

NEW DELHI, Sept 16: Former skipper Habibul Bashar is among at least 10 leading Bangladesh players who will join the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL), a league official said on Tuesday.

“There will be more than 10 players, that includes Bashar,” the official, who did not wish to be identified, said.

The ICL were due to make an announcement at a news conference on Tuesday after at least seven Bangladesh players surprised their national board by seeking early retirements.

Earlier, batsman Nazimuddin became the seventh player to apply for early retirement.

Bashar, batsmen Shahriar Nafees and Aftab Ahmed, all-rounder Farhad Reza, wicketkeeper Dhiman Ghosh and left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain requested early retirement on Sunday without giving a reason.

Local media reports said at least 14 leading Bangladesh cricketers were about to join the rebel ICL Twenty20 competition. The new ICL season will start on Oct 10, featuring 34 matches in four venues.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) convened a meeting of its executive committee on Wednesday after the original six players summoned to attend the cricket operations committee failed to respond.

“We will decide appropriate actions against them as they breached contracts by disobeying the summons,” Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the committee chairman, told reporters.

The Dhaka-based Bengali national daily Prothom Alo said Mohammad Rafique, Alok Kapali, Manjurul Islam, Tapash Baishya, Mohammad Sharif, Mahbubul Karim and Golam Mabud were also planning to join the ICL.

The newspaper added that the Bangladeshi players would all be in the same team, named the Dhaka Warriors.

The Bangladesh Cricket Players Association urged the players on Tuesday to withdraw their petitions for retirement for the sake of the national cricket.

“Change your decision and come back to uphold cricket and the country's image,” former Bangladesh captain Aminul Islam, a leader of the association, told a news conference.

Basher said on Sunday he had been in discussions with the ICL but had not yet signed a contract.—Reuters