Once again the BCCI finds itself on sticky turf. After letting Sachin Tendulkar play in a domestic Twenty20 match for New Zealand, they are now looking to find a way out of the puzzle as Hashim Marshall, an ICL player, happens to be on the same team as Tendulkar!
Tendulkar was not scheduled to be a part of the team India squad for the Twenty20 matches. That then give him an opportunity to represent the New Zealand Players Cricket Association (NZPCA) in a bid that the likes of Gary Kirsten consider good practice for the men not involved in the ongoing Twenty20 matches. But now while New Zealand has allowed the likes of Shane Bond to play in domestic tournaments, despite their past association with the ICL, the BCCI has been opposed to the move from the very beginning.
Now it finds itself in a quandary, and the latest twist in the tale is that the BCCI may now be forced inadvertently to state that Tendulkar can play as Marshall was previously associated with the ‘rebel’ Twenty20 league and not associated with it anymore. But as most ICL players would confirm, they are still with the ICL unless otherwise notified, though the ICL has called off its World Series slated for March/April this year. Will the BCCI let this one slide? Perhaps, but only just, after making the ICL’s case for recognition hard and the ICC’s job to resolve the issue difficult .
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