The Hindu Business Line : ICL gears up for first tournament

The league will kick off with a Twenty20 tournament at a Chandigarh stadium, which it has taken on lease for 10 years. To promote the venture, ICL is busy signing up ‘partners’ as it prefers to call them for merchandise, travel and various other avenues.

“It’s a different approach from the usual boards, side screens and pitches that have been done in the past. We are working with the companies to leverage the ICL property for their brand,” said Mr Satish Menon, President, Sales and Sponsorships, ICL.

Broadcasting deals for the tournament’s telecast on Zee Sports will be announced after November 15. ICL has announced Provogue as apparel and merchandise partner. It is working with MSN for online coverage of the tournament. “This association for the merchandise of ICL will help build brand ICL through our 126 stores across the country. It will also help launch the big business of sports merchandising in India as well,” said Mr Bipin Gurnani, President, Provogue, in a statement.

Mr Krishna Prasad, Executive Producer, MSN India, hopes to showcase cricket for the online community in ways beyond what has been done till date, promising to unveil a new face of cricket on the Web before the next fortnight. ICL has also tied up with Sab Miller.

The six city league hopes to progress from the Twenty20 format to the classic 50 overs ODI format later. Announced in April, ICL, with Kapil Dev as head of the Executive Board, has signed up Brian Lara and 50 other players, both domestic and international, including Lance Klusener, Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle and Azhar Mahmood.