The International Cricket Council on Saturday rejected the rebel Indian Cricket League's application for recognition, saying the Twenty20 event does not meet its criteria for approving "unofficial cricket".
"The ICC Board considered an application for the ICL to be approved as unofficial cricket. The Board went through the application carefully, including assessing it against the criteria within the ICC regulations for approving such events.
"After due consideration, the Board resolved that the application should be rejected," the ICC said in a statement after its two-day Executive Board meeting in Dubai.
The ICL has threatened to take ICC to court if it doesn't get recognition.
The governing body, meanwhile, left the fate of players aligned with the league, but wanting to break away, on individual boards.
"In relation to the possibility of players returning to official cricket from the ICL, the Board reiterated to Members the importance of protecting the fabric of the game. A clear message needed to be sent that players could not swap between official and unofficial cricket at will.
"However, it was confirmed that the nature and scope of any sanction would ultimately be a matter for each individual Member to determine, based on its own local conditions," the ICC said.
"The Board gave the matter careful consideration but, looking at the criteria set out in the regulations, felt the application for approval could not be granted," added ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat.
Listing the criteria for recognising unofficial cricket, the ICC said such an event should first have the approval of the board of the country where it is being staged.
"Safety and suitability of the venue, including anti-corruption considerations and the safety of players and officials. Whether the event has any meaningful role in the development of the game or has a specific charitable or benevolent purpose. Whether the event causes any conflict or perceived conflict with ICC events" were the other criteria ICC spelt out in its statement.
Meanwhile, the Board invited former England women's captain Clare Connor to join the ICC Cricket Committee as a representative of women's cricket.
Connor is the head of the women's game for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and is also a non-executive director of Sussex County Cricket Club.
She was awarded an MBE in June 2004 for her services to cricket and, 18 months later, an OBE, after leading England to an Ashes victory over Australia in 2005.
The next meeting of the ICC Cricket Committee, chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, will take place in London on May 11 and 12.
Among other decisions, the Board agreed to consider means of further promoting Test cricket at its next meeting on the basis of recommendations from both ICC management and the ICC working group, made up of ICC Full Member representatives, that convenes every month by teleconference.
