Sandeep Patil, Kiran More and Kapil Dev during a recent ICL function in Mumbai

Mohali: Former BCCI president Inderjit Singh Bindra has urged the Board to give players — who have joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) — more time to “reconsider” their decision.

“They should be given time to realise the implications of their decision. They cannot stand on two boats,” Bindra said here on Saturday.

Bindra, now the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) chief, admitted that the decision of many young talents to join the ICL would create problems for teams. But it won’t be a long-term one.

“The problem would be immediate. In the long run, I feel, the country has abundant talent. They would certainly be replaced within a year,” Bindra said.

Lashing out at the ICL for being an out-and-out profit-oriented venture, Bindra said the move to float a rebel cricket league is aimed solely at making money.

“They are not here to promote the game as the BCCI is doing… They are interested only in making money. The BCCI is not a profit-making venture but a promotional organisation,” he stressed.

Bindra hinted that the Board would try to be soft towards players who have signed up with the ICL. “Nobody has said players going to the ICL would be boycotted. Nobody can take away from Kapil Dev his achievements,” he said.

Reiterating that the BCCI has asked the players who have signed on the ICL’s dotted line to ‘make up their minds’, joint secretary M.P. Pandove said they seem to have been misguided.

“We want them to realise that the ICL will shut shop if it runs into losses, whereas the BCCI will never ever fold up for similar reasons.

“Kapil will always be welcomed in the PCA provided he is not here to sign contracts with players,” Pandove stressed.

Pandove said the Board could never support the ICL. “We will lose our income tax exemptions if we support a profit making body,” he remarked.

According to Bindra, the BCCI had earned an ‘income’ of over Rs 630 crore last year. “This year the income is expected to be around Rs 800 crore. I admit the Board is not projecting its work of promoting cricket properly,” he said.

Bindra said the PCA would be appointing professional selectors from this season. “We would like other state cricket organisations to take similar steps.

“We are also working to adopt the Australian system and Pandove, our honorary secretary, would be travelling to Australia shortly to study the way the game is run,” Bindra said.

Faced with the threat from the rebel league, which is trying to lure some of its senior players, Bindra announced that the prize money for all tournaments would be doubled. “We are also in the process of giving a retainer to players from this season apart from hiking match fees substantially,” he said.