The BCCI also banned the players who joined the ICL from playing for their national teams or in any other official tournaments.

In the 1980s, many international cricketers toured South Africa whilst the country was under a sporting boycott due to apartheid, often sponsored by private companies.

In the case of the latter, many cricketers received bans from their respective national teams for participating in these tours.

[2][3][4] In the early 2000s, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) were looking for a way to market the game to a younger audience.

[7] The Board of Control for Cricket in India sent a young side to participate in the World Cup, due to their skepticism over the format's viability.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was assured that it was free to draw from ICL's talent pool.

[citation needed] The state government of West Bengal also agreed to rent its cricket grounds, notably Eden Gardens, to the league.

[citation needed] The International Cricket Council gave a statement through its chief executive, Malcolm Speed, that the ICC would not recognize the ICL unless the BCCI chooses to recognise it.

The court issued notices to all corporate sponsors, the state cricket associations & the BCCI against terminating valid contracts of players joining the ICL.

The investigation was based on media reports of the BCCI giving an open statement that it would ban players who join ICL.

[52] In April 2009, the BCCI offered an 'amnesty' to all Indian players associated with the ICL,[53] a move that was quickly replicated by other boards like Bangladesh [54] and South Africa.

[57] The ICL still remained publicly confident of surviving the withdrawal and holding a new season of the tournament in October 2009, although that never happened.