India: English ICL players to be barred from Twenty20 Champions League

English players who participated in the non-sanctioned Indian Twenty20 competition will be barred from the multimillion dollar Champions League scheduled for later this year, Indian officials said Sunday. A multimillion dollar Champions League will be launched in September after the cricket boards of England, Australia, India and South Africa reached agreement on the new Twenty20 tournament involving provincial champions. But the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which will likely host the event, said English county players who participated in the Indian Cricket League — which ran in competition to the sanctioned Indian Premier League — would not be permitted to take part. Paul Nixon and Darren Maddy were among the leading English players who took part in the ICL. "Clubs from England who qualify for the Twenty20... [read full story]