Lara hints comeback, fuels speculations of joining ICL

London, June 13 (UNI) Fuelling speculation of his joining the breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL), Brian Lara has hinted that he might return from retirement anytime soon albeit not in international cricket.

''I think I am going to play cricket again. If I go six or eight months without cricket I would lose it and I don't want to lose it yet,'' Lara, who had quit international cricket after a disastrous World Cup campaign at home, told 'The Wisden Cricketer'.

However, the southpaw appeared to rule out an international comeback as well as with celebrity club side Lashings. This leaves Lara with the options of joining County cricket or the Zee-backed ICL.

The ICL will be functional by July-August and will start with Twenty20 format matches in the run-up to the Twenty20 World Cup in September 2007.

Former international cricketers including Kapil Dev, Tony Greig, Dean Jones and others such as Kiran More have been hired as board members of the Indian Cricket League.

Meanwhile, Lara said he had expected to tour England this summer but added that his sudden retirement was on his own terms.

''We needed a new direction, someone who was willing to see some sort of change. I was willing to do that. I wanted to come to England but I had also said I wanted to finish with one-dayers. It's not ideal but then how many things in life are? ''I leave West Indies cricket with my head held high,'' said Lara, Test cricket's leading scorer with 11,953 runs in 131 matches.

UNI