NEW DELHI, Oct 9: The rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) enters its second season on Friday hoping to gain recognition from the sport’s world governing body and provide more thrills than before.

Subhash Chandra, ICL owner, met International Cricket Council (ICC) President David Morgan in London on Tuesday to discuss official approval for the league.

“This is a very positive move by the ICC. We hope the ICC, for the sake of young cricketers, will look into the matter,” ICL chairman and legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev told local media on Wednesday.

“The Indian cricket board also should consider the matter by having a dialogue with the authorities concerned and that’s what we want.”

The month-long Twenty20 tournament begins in the southern city of Hyderabad with a match between defending champions Hyderabad Heroes and runners-up Lahore Badshahs.

The nine-team event will be held at four venues — Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Gurgaon. The best-of-three finals will begin in Ahmedabad on Nov 13.

A new side this time is Dhaka Warriors from Bangladesh, led by former captain Habibul Bashar and featuring 11 internationals.

The Bangladeshi players have already been banned for 10 years for joining the ICL.

The ICL players have been banned from official matches by the Indian board, which launched its own lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 competition earlier this year.

The Indian board also convinced its counterparts from around the world to shun ICL players amid ICC’s stated position that only tournaments okayed by the respective boards would be recognised.

Top stars taking part in the ICL include retired Pakistani captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, former Sri Lanka skipper Marvan Atapattu, New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond and Australian batsman Damien Martyn.—AFP