B'lore ISL players in the dark

With the city-based Indian Super League franchise reportedly signing a termination letter with the organisers of the league, these are uncertain times for the players who were snapped up by the side during the player’s auction in Mumbai last month.

One former top India player, who was bought by the Bangalore franchise, actually found out that the Sun Group, who bought the franchise, had signed the letter with ISL from newspaper reports a couple of days ago.

“There were no calls or messages to let me know what was happening,” the player said. “I actually read a few newspaper reports which stated that the franchise will be disbanded, with Chennai as one of the possible destinations,” he continued.

The player, who has been in constant communication with a couple of others players of the same franchise, says he wasn’t even informed about what happened at the auction. The other players have also been kept out of the loop.

“IMG-R (the organisers) signed me up. After that, I have had no information from ISL or IMG-R about my fate.

“Even when I was picked up, nobody intimated me that I would be playing for the Bangalore-based franchise.”

It emerged last week that the Sun Group had signed a termination letter with the organisers. While it has been reported elsewhere the franchise might be shifted to Chennai, the company hasn’t yet come out with an official announcement as to the future course of action.

With the league set to start next month, it looks like this chapter still has a few pages to run.

Meanwhile, ISL announced the list of 49 international players who will go into the central player draft pool to be held in Mumbai next week.

The list comprises experienced players and promising young talent.