In a move effectively challenging the Indian cricket board’s national tournaments, Zee Group yesterday announced the launch of an ambitious Indian Cricket League (ICL) with a corpus fund of Rs 1 billion ($232.26 million) and a promise to field many international players.

Stung by the announcement and in order to stop speculation, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) quickly issued a statement that its president Sharad Pawar has received a letter, but said no more.
The announcement came as a surprise also because Zee owns the BCCI rights for overseas international cricket.

Zee won the five-year rights for $219.15 million. “A professional league is the need of the hour as is the killer instinct in the players. We will try to do it as early as possible — maybe in July,” said Zee group chairman Subhash Chandra at a press conference here. (more…)

ZEE TV is jumping on the bandwagon with a new show giving weekly updates on the popular sport’s front. The program titled ‘22 Yards’ strives to be different from the run-of-the-mill sport shows on television.

Each show works around a short interview and various vignettes that deal with the week’s happenings in the world of cricket. ‘22 Yards’ will be shown on ZEE Sports India and on ZEE TV UK from Sunday 13th August at 20:30.