The Essel group?s newly formed Indian cricket League has taken the Board of Control for Cricket in India to court, alleging that the BCCI had misled the public by claiming that its team represented India.
The ICL has urged the Delhi High Court in a petition to restrain the BCCI from using the Indian flag and the name of the country.
The BCCI had, in an earlier court case, accepted before the Supreme Court the fact that it was a private body and did not have any formal approval of the government to represent the country. The ICL has also urged the court to stop the board from intimidating players who wish to participate in its proposed cricket tournaments.
The ICL contends that the BCCI can neither ?threaten? any player nor deny former cricketers, who have joined the league, their pensions.
The ICL has also sought a direction from the court in order to be allowed to use stadia across the country for its tournaments.
This may be the biggest issue in the petition as some cricket analysts say that according to the law, there can be only one apex body representing a sport at a national level. The BCCI has governed cricket in India since its formation in 1929.
The matter is expected to come up for hearing on Monday. The BCCI recently sacked World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev from his position as chairman of the national cricket academy because he joined ICL?that challenged the cricket board?s authority.
Dev is head of the ICL?s executive board. The board has also directed its affiliated state units not to allow the use of its stadia by the ?unofficial? league.