Nantie Hayward

The Indian Cricket League will kick start on October 10. Here are four superstars who will be watched for an interesting league.

In the coming days, the ICL could be announcing more names of players joining them. Among those confirmed according to sources are that of former New Zealand stars Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle.

A fourth-wicket partnership of 83 runs between Abdul Razzaq and Rana Naved-ul Hassan powered ICL Pakistan to a convincing six-wicket win over World XI.

Sri Lanka batsman Sanath Jayasuriya said he feels safe in Pakistan and hoped that a world XI match against Pakistan XI will help in resuming international cricket in the country soon.

The ICL set the ball rolling for its high-profile Twenty20 venture by unveiling its six teams which has batting greats Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq as its star attraction.

The PCB has distanced itself from the two Twenty20 matches being played between the World XI and Pakistan Stars XI over the weekend.

Former India cricketers Yusuf Pathan, Naman Ojha and Vinay Kumar, all of whom recently announced their retirements, will feature in the India Legends team, which includes Sachin Tendulkar, in the 'Road Safety World Series' starting here on March 5.

The second exhibition Twenty20 match between the International World XI and Pakistan Stars XI ended peacefully and amidst fanfare and fireworks allowing Pakistanis to celebrate the return of of international cricket to the country after nearly three-and-a-half years.

The Chennai Superstars claimed honours in the Twenty20 championship last year and then followed it up with the title in the ICL 50s championship early this year.

Michael Bevan was an essential part of the Australian One-day outfit for a decade.

Ahmedabad Rockets will have their hands full against the TimesJobs.com Chennai Superstars, who carved out a six-wicket win over Dhaka Warriors, when they clash in the ICL Championship.

South Africa dominated New Zealand in a one-sided cricket match, winning by 190 runs. With this victory, South Africa has become a strong contender for the title. New Zealand has now lost three matches in a row against top teams in the competition. South Africa's success was built around their fast bowlers, reminiscent of their Test series win in India over two decades ago.

Pitching full length deliveries, attacking the stumps and setting straighter field placements should be the mantra for England pacers when they counter a star-studded Indian batting line-up during the upcoming Test series, says South Africa great Allan Donald.

The 'unofficial Test' of 2001 at Centurion following the Mike Denness fallout during India's trip to South Africa was seen by many observers as a seminal moment when India started flexing its muscle and truly announced itself as the new power centre of world cricket.

Having made his ODI debut in 2002, Mohammad Kaif went on to represent the country in 125 One day internationals, but the batsman doesn't regret the fact that he played only 13 Tests for India. "The Indian team at that time was full of big players like Sachin, Dravid, Sehwag. So I and Yuvraj could not play many Tests," he said.