BCCI's stand on ICL will scare off players: Kapil

The former Indian skipper hits back at the cricket board's threat to impose life ban on players aligning with the breakaway league.

Former India captain Kapil Dev on Saturday hit back at the BCCI for threatening to impose life ban on players aligning with the rebel Indian Cricket League, saying such a tough stand was 'unfair' and would only 'scare players'.

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Kapil, Chairman of the ICL's Executive Board, also took a dig at BCCI President Sharad Pawar by questioning his commitment to cricket.

"I am disappointed. They are trying to scare players when people of the country want to play cricket. It is not fair for the BCCI Secretary (Niranjan Shah) to say like that," he said.

"Maybe, he has his own reasons but that's not the way to react," he told a private TV channel.

Shah had on Friday warned that any player signing up for the breakaway ICL would be banned for life. "Our stand is very clear. Players who take part in the ICL will never be eligible to play for the country again," he had said.

Kapil also gave a tongue-in-cheek reply to Pawar's reported comments that the former Indian captain was "busy with other activities" and had little time for National Cricket Academy of which he is the chairman.