David vs. Goliath

The signs are ominous for Essel Group’s Indian Cricket League. As they gear up to kick off their second tournament in March 08 the IPL juggernaut is threatening push them into oblivion. IPL is already proving to be a cash cow. It has attracted millions of dollars in sponsorship and TV rights. ICL on the other hand doesn't have sponsors, all they have is partners.

IPL has the endorsement of ICC and the cricket boards for all nations have warned their players against joining ICL. Any player who joins ICL will have their international careers terminated. This has clearly worked in IPL's favor, as many as eighty international players have joined IPL and all of them were up for grabs at IPL's big ticket auction held in Mumbai.

ICL also has some big names like Brian Lara, Chris Cairns, Marvan Atapattu and Inzamam-ul-Haq. Very recently they snapped up eight Pakistani players including Mohammad Sami and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. But Lara's delayed arrival for next months tournament has raised speculation that IPL is trying to poach him.

As the battle heats up ICL's greatest challenge will be to attract advertisements.