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The head of New Zealand's players' union is urging the ICC to embrace the Indian Cricket League (ICL), fearing New Zealand cricket will suffer the fallout if the league becomes a rebel tournament.
Heath Mills, manager of the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association, said the Black Caps' comparatively low incomes made them a prime target for the embryonic league.
An International Cricket Council meeting scheduled for early September will determine whether the privately owned and funded tournament will be endorsed by the game's governing body.
The players' associations will meet at the same time in Johannesburg and Mills told the Herald on Sunday their message would be for the ICC to get behind the initiative, rather than to force it into rebellion.
"The ideal scenario from my point of view would be for the ICC to support it as long as it didn't impinge upon international cricket," he said. "I can't see many negatives of third-party funding coming into cricket and another professional league would give players an opportunity to earn more income, just like those who go to county cricket.
"What would concern me greatly was if the league was not sanctioned and it became a 'rebel' league," Mills said. "Our guys would be hugely at risk."
Mills' reasoning is that the Asian nations, Australia, England and South Africa have the resources to pay their players the sort of money that would lead them not into temptation.
"They're paying their players close to a million a year so it's a no-brainer. But a guy who is near the top of the retainer list and plays most games a year is looking at $250,000 maximum.
"That makes us vulnerable."
The ICL received some timely oxygen last week with high-level support in the Indian government decrying the BCCI's (India cricket's governing body) "confrontationist stand" against the Twenty20 competition.
Railway minister Lalu Prasad has openly backed the league, becoming the second government minister in a week to back the concept.
On Friday, half the Hyderabad first-class team announced it had signed, much to the embarrassment of local officials there.
The multi-million-dollar ICL plans to hold Twenty20 matches between six city teams in October and November.
Each team are supposed to comprise four international players, two Indian stars and eight up and coming cricketers, according to an ICL announcement in May.
Retired West Indian captain Brian Lara, test cricket's highest runscorer, is the only marquee player to have confirmed his participation in the competition, which carries a winner's purse of US$1 million ($1.42 million).
Out-of-favour Pakistani opener Imran Farhat yesterday confirmed he was on the verge of signing with the ICL.
The BCCI and Pakistan board have threatened life bans on cricketers who join the league.
That has forced the league to take a clandestine approach, with players who have signed understood to have signed confidentiality agreements.
At least three New Zealanders are known to have been targeted - the recently retired Nathan Astle, Chris Cairns and Stephen Fleming.
