NEW DELHI, July 11: Former skipper Kapil Dev must choose between remaining head of the Indian cricket board (BCCI) academy and backing a new, unofficial league, board officials said.

Kapil, who led the triumphant 1983 World Cup side, retorted by asking the BCCI to explain why it objected to his staying on the board of the newly launched Indian Cricket League (ICL).

“Kapil Dev will have to decide between the BCCI and ICL,” board secretary Niranjan Shah said on Wednesday.

The league was launched in May by India's Essel Group with plans to stage annual Twenty20 games by roping in some foreign and current Indian players.

It also named ex-England captain Tony Greig and former Australian batsman Dean Jones to its board.

The Indian board has refused permission for the new league and, in a letter to provincial teams, warned that it would stop financial benefits such as pensions for those who defied it.

Asked whether the board felt threatened by the league, Shah said: “It is a threat when people like to do such things with their money power.”

Former all-rounder Kapil was unconcerned, however.

“I think I'm still with the cricket control board and I'm still with ICL definitely,” he said.

It was his duty as a former player to back such initiatives in the game, he said. “Ethically if I'm not doing anything wrong, then I don't think I'm wrong.”—Reuters