ICL signs up 18 new players

The Indian Cricket League (ICL), an Essel Group venture, has signed up 18 new cricketers "" six international and 12 domestic players. The league had already signed 50 domestic cricketers.

The international players who have signed contracts to play for ICL are Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Nathan Astle, Hamish Marshal, Darren Maddy and Azhar Mahmood.

Announcing the signings, Kapil Dev, chairman of the executive board, ICL said, "These signings are in line with our objective of providing the best platform to young cricketers from all corners of India to play alongside the superstars of international cricket and gain the confidence to excel."

Although the ICL attracted a healthy quotient of media attraction and earned the ire of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the recent success of the T20 World Cup has put ICL in a spot with advertisers, who seem to have turned cold.