Kapil Dev

New Delhi: The Indian Cricket League (ICL) chairman, Kapil Dev, has lashed out at Ricky Ponting for adopting “double standards.”

The Australian captain, it may be recalled, had asked the Boards to be tough towards those who joined the ICL.

Among other things, Ponting had said: “The danger is that it (the ICL) attracts the guys who are playing international cricket… The Boards have to get very proactive and make sure they are getting something in place…”

Ironically, he has himself joined another league — the Board-promoted Indian Premier League (IPL), which too is offering hefty sums.

“Ponting had no business criticising a venture which aims to offer a better career for hundreds of cricketers as opposed to a few… If he was opposed to the money element, why has he joined the IPL? We can do without such double standards,” Kapil told The Telegraph.

Speaking at his plush Greater Kailash office on Saturday, he added: “We’ve set out with a purpose and I intend seeing it being successful… Ponting, I think, is the only current cricketer to have criticised the ICL… Obviously, others are convinced about our objective… The ICL, if I may add, is all about people who love challenges.”

Asked why November 30 (opening day of the second Indo-Pak Test, in Calcutta) had been chosen as the launch date, Kapil replied: “So what if it clashes? Our (Twenty20) matches will be played in the evenings… The way I judge capacity is TV viewership, not the attendance at the grounds…”

Kapil, significantly, confirmed that “legal measures” would be taken against those who reneged on their contract with the ICL. “If somebody has already taken money, then he has to face the consequences. Action is going to be taken.”

Pakistan’s senior pro, Mohammed Yousuf, is one of those to have ditched the ICL.