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Gayle set to play in all Australia Tests
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Mar 18, 2008, 17:51

Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are set to play a full part in West Indies series with Australia after the IPL agreed international cricket should take priority.

The West Indies Cricket Board had voiced its concerns last week about how captain Gayle and former captains Sarwan and Chanderpaul might not be available for the first two Tests against Australia because of their commitments to the lucrative IPL.

But at an International Cricket Council meeting in Dubai, the IPL and its founding body the Board of Control for Cricket in India agreed to sign a contract that said it would not select a player for IPL cricket if he was required by his national board.

The move would have quelled some major concerns from West Indies and other teams such as New Zealand, boards who do not have the financial muscle to pay players enough to prevent them from cashing in at the IPL.

“The ICC Board has agreed upon an official policy regarding the IPL,” an ICC media release said. “In general terms, it was agreed that the IPL was a good concept and although the introduction of privately owned franchises introduced risks to the game, it also provided possible benefits.

“The Board stressed that the concept of nation-versus-nation cricket was the lifeblood of Members and this must always be given the highest possible priority. In order to maintain that position, the ICC Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) agreed that the BCCI, as the owner of the IPL, would sign a standard-form contract with all of the ICC Members reflecting the following principles:

•           Each ICC Member will have an unfettered right in its absolute discretion to lodge an objection to a player from its country playing in the IPL
•           This objection can be lodged up to two years after that player’s retirement
•           All such objections will be respected by the IPL and its various franchises and the player in question will not be selected to play
•           Bilateral commitments of Members will take precedence over IPL fixtures
•           IPL will introduce a code of conduct, an anti-corruption code and an anti-doping code that comply with ICC regulations

“No request has been made by the IPL or BCCI to adjust the ICC Future Tours Programme to accommodate IPL matches. The ICC will monitor IPL’s progress over the next few years and work with the BCCI to ensure that it works in harmony with international cricket.”