LONDON, Nov 25: Owners of the Indian Cricket League (ICL) are ready to issue formal legal proceedings against the International Cricket Council (ICC), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as early as next month.

The ICL predated its fellow Twenty20 competition Indian Premier League (IPL) but it was latter that flourished into a global phenomenon after it became preferred domestic competition of both the BCCI and ICC.

ICL owners Essel Sports Private Ltd, whose fixture programme is currently suspended, believe that both parties – as well as the ECB – have acted in restraint of trade and in breach of competition law in attempting to sideline high-profile players plying their trade in the ICL and deter others from signing in the future.

Participation in the ICL led to a number of issues for high-profile players, including Pakistan’s Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Abdul Razzaq.—Agencies