Mumbai: Zee TV's ambitious plans to kickstart an alternative cricket league in India became clearer on Monday with the announcement of their executive board.

Besides Tony Greig and Dean Jones, the board has two members who are part of the BCCI - former India captain Kapil Dev and former BCCI selection chief Kiran More. Will this go down well with the bosses of Indian cricket?

In the late 1970s, the breakaway Kerry Packer World Series Cricket changed the game forever. And this man was among its leading lights. Three decades on; Tony Greig is back in a familiar role.

Along with Dean Jones, Kiran More and Kapil Dev, Greig is part of the executive board of the Indian Cricket League.

The legendary Indian all-rounder is the chairman, but isn't he worried about the BCCI's reaction? After all, they have dismissed the league, refusing to even recognise it.

"Do I have to discuss everything with the BCCI? They don't own me, I'm not owned by anybody. Somebody wants to take my services for my cricketing abilities, they are not giving me a job," Kapil says.

Kapil's confidence seems to have rubbed off on the former chairman of selectors. Kiran More is the secretary of the Baroda Cricket Associaton, a member of the BCCI, but says he has enough time to fulfill both roles.

"I spend about 4-5 hours at my Baroda Cricket Association office. I don't get paid, I don't get any petrol allowance. It's the passion I have and a dream to do something for cricket. That's what I have still been doing in Baroda. And as Kapil paaji said, we are here at a professional level, and why not? People have hired me for the experience I have. Nothing wrong in it," More says.

The Indian Cricket League is set to launch in October with six teams and several big name players expected to feature. Has the first step in a bigger battle against the BCCI been taken?

(With inputs from Meha Bhardwaj)