Hitting out at BCCI for ostracising those associated with the Indian Cricket League, former India captain Kapil Dev [Images] on Wednesday said if the Board had the good of the game at heart, it should stop branding them as "rebels."

"Why are those playing in ICL being punished. They have not done anything wrong. Should we not feel proud when they play and score runs in the company of international cricketers?," Kapil, ICL's Executive Board Chairman told reporters in Panchkula.

He said instead of trying to appreciate what ICL was doing, it was being branded as "a rebel league."

"What have we done to earn that name. Are we not promoting cricket. If Subhash Chandra (chairman of Zee group which owns ICL) has put in so much money into this with a vision to take cricket forward in this country, should anybody have a problem with that," Kapil asked.