ICL signs 18 more; Cairns, Astle in the bag

The Indian Cricket League, an Essel Group venture, has signed on 18 more cricketers -- six international and 12 domestic players, including former New Zealand star all-rounder Chris Cairns. The league has already signed 50 domestic cricketers.

The six international players who have signed contracts to play for ICL are New Zealand's Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Hamish Marshal, Pakistan's Azhar Mahmood and England's Darren Maddy.

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

Althoug 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 Twenty20 World Cup has put ICL in a spot with advertisers, who have seem to have turned cold.