Players can register online to feature in Masters Champions League

Mumbai, June 17 (IANS) The Masters Champions League (MCL) governing council has announced that players willing to play in the cricket tournament for former stars can now register online.

Nearly a fortnight after the tournament was launched in Dubai in the presence of legends like Wasim Akram, Adam Gilchrist and Brian Lara, the MCL unveiled the next stage of the process.

"Players interested in participating in the MCL can now access the registration form from either the official website of MCL. Alternately, players affiliated to the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) will be emailed forms for them to enrol for the tournament," said a release.

"The players will need to enrol themselves by filling up the form and then submitting it for review by the governing council of MCL. Only players who have played a minimum of five international matches for their country are eligible and should submit the form."

MCL chairman Zafar Shah said: "This is the second stage of our process as we count down to our dream of seeing the masters in action. All the player names will go into a pool for the governing council to vet, before we begin the procedures for the player auction. I would like to thank the members of the governing council for coming up with an excellent system for the players." The final date for registrations is July 15.

The league will feature only retired international players and will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Lara, Gilchrist, Akram and Jacques Kallis have been signed up as 'Icons' so far. Six teams will be seen in action with the tourney starting from February 2016.

Speaking on the MCL, Kallis said: “MCL is an upcoming tournament which will be hosted in the UAE. A first of its kind, the MCL is likely to involve veterans of cricket, in some capacity a number of high-profile former international cricketers from around the world.