NEW Zealand Cricket yesterday said it would not allow any of its contracted players to take part in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) series.

It said the Twenty20 team tournament, due to take place from October to November, would clash with New Zealand's tour of South Africa and the opening of the domestic first class season.

"We have considered this issue carefully and have concluded that New Zealand Cricket cannot agree to release our contracted players to participate in the ICL," chief executive Justin Vaughan said in Wellington.

He said the ICL tournament, and the proposed Standford tournament in the West Indies, had the potential to compete with and erode the value of official internationals sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.

"New Zealand Cricket, and indirectly our professional player group, depends upon the value of the media rights associated with official international events to provide a majority of our income.

"It is therefore in the best interests of New Zealand Cricket not to support unofficial events such as the ICL," Vaughan added.

He said no contracted player had asked for permission to take part in the ICL competition.

The rebel league was launched in May by India's Essel Group, which controls the country's biggest listed media firm, Zee Telefilms.

Retired West Indies batsman Brian Lara and four Pakistani players - former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, batsman Mohammad Yousuf and Imran Farhat, and allrounder Abdul Razzaq - have all been recruited, as have many Indian domestic players.

The ICL has drawn comparison with Kerry Packer's rebel cricket series of the 1970s, which attracted many of the world's leading players.
Agencies