Mohammed Asif

New Delhi/Karachi: The rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) plans to expand from the initial six to a 12-team format within the next three years even as the Essel Group venture stepped up its recruitment drive, making a revised and a more lucrative offer to Pak speedster Mohammed Asif, according to the local media in Karachi.

The ICL has offered Asif Rs 100 million for a three-year contract and the bowler is carefully assessing various aspects before taking a decision next week, a Karachi-based newspaper reported on Saturday quoting PCB sources.

The ICL had last month offered Rs 9 crore each to Asif and fellow fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, which they had refused. The rebel league plans to include more teams such as Bombay Jets and Madras Heat in the near future.

The ICL official website indicated that retired New Zealand allrounder Chris Cairns was more likely to join in, denying that captain Stephen Fleming has been approached.

The breakaway league got a shot in the arm with the decision of current Hyderabad players, including former India under-19 captain Ambati Rayudu, joining it.

With the league making lucrative offers, many players are keen to cash in and are even considering playing in another multi-million dollar league, the planned Stanford Twenty-20 in the West Indies.

“I know some of the players who are considering it. If as a professional you can ply your trade and make some money in the process, what’s wrong?” a former India international, now out of the national team reckoning, said.

The Caribbean tournament, proposed by Texan billionaire Allen Stanford who has promised to pump in $100 million into West Indies cricket, is similar to the ICL in concept.

But while the Essel Group venture has been opposed by the BCCI, the Caribbean event has the support of WICB, which has even set aside dates in its domestic calendar. The meet, however, is yet to be approved by the ICC.

The ICL has received overwhelming response from players. Sridharan Sriram, a 31-year-old from Tamil Nadu, became the first India player to sign on the dotted line for a three-year contract.

And there could be more such discarded players, such as Railways allrounder Sanjay Bangar. “There has been talks but I have not made a decision. It’s only at a preliminary level,” Bangar said from England.

Sriram’s accepting the offer came on a day when Alfred Absolem became the eighth player from Hyderabad to join the league. (PTI)