Cricket: Alarm over Bangla raid

Abdur Razzak is the only Bangladeshi signed by the IPL. Photo / Getty Images

The Indian Twenty20 circus could pit New Zealand against a troupe of clowns when they visit Bangladesh, but the prospect of more on-field humiliation for Bangladesh is the least of the International Cricket Council's worries.

The loss of 13 Bangladesh players to a 'rebel' league might seem a small crack in the cricket world given the country's struggles to field a competitive side, but its impact is closer to that of a fault-line suddenly opening up in the middle of Lord's.

We're not talking about the Indian Premier League (ICL) stealing the odd high-profile player - most notably Shane Bond - but a country.

"I suppose, without wanting to speak for the ICL, it shows where their model is heading," said Justin Vaughan, who dealt with the threat of the ICL signing New Zealand players including Bond, Craig McMillan and Chris Harris in his first year as New Zealand Cricket chief executive.

He's not willing to concede the ICL is here to stay.

"It does feel as if they're slightly confused. They've made a lot of noises also around youth development and academy structures but this [the Bangladesh raid] obviously indicates they see themselves as broader than India."

There is nothing to stop Zee Telefilms, who bankroll the competition, trying to do the same in Sri Lanka and Pakistan - a pan-Asian tournament, with teams based in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, would be an attractive proposition.

"If you're drawing a logical conclusion, if I was the CEO of Sri Lankan cricket I'd be pretty concerned about the last week," Vaughan said.

That concern could see the Indian Premier League (IPL) throwing more silly money at second-rate Pakistan and Sri Lankan players to keep them, meaning less for more worthy players from other countries, potentially throwing them into the ICL's arms.

This makes the current climate confusing, potentially perilous and ultimately unsustainable though that hasn't stopped IPL founder and BCCI vice-president Lalat Modi acting on the Bangladesh raid with typical haste.

"We will definitely play an active role in helping them [Bangladesh] out," Modi told Cricinfo. "We are looking at adding a few [Bangladesh] players for the next IPL auction. And we are also looking at a team from Bangladesh participating in the Champions League from 2010 onwards."

What a coincidence.

The ICC's willingness to be bullied by the BCCI into imposing sanctions on players who signed with the ICL has been disastrous and ill-conceived.