BCCI in a spot over Tendulkar T20 appearance

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The Indian board faces an embarrassing situation after letting Sachin Tendulkar appear for a Masters Twenty20 match in Wellington Friday where he will play alongside Hamish Marshall, the former New Zealand batsman who featured in the unauthorised ICL last year.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirmed in a press release that Tendulkar will turn out for the NZCPA (New Zealand Cricket Players' Association) Masters side while Dinesh Karthik, who is also part of the Indian squad on this tour, will play for ACA Masters.

Heath Mills, the NZCPA chief executive, said Marshall, who played for ICL's Royal Bengal Tigers, will also be part of the NZCPA squad.

The BCCI has shunned official contact with ICL players and last year, refused to let VVS Laxman appear for Nottinghamshire because the county had ICL players in its ranks.

"The ICL players are allowed to play in New Zealand domestic cricket," Mills said. "Moreover, Hamish is not an ICL-contracted player. He finished his contract last year." But an ICL official told Cricinfo that Marshall, who played his last ICL game on November 8, is still with the private league.