Former England wicketkeeper Paul Nixon believes the furore over the rebel Indian Cricket League will blow over in time.

Nixon was one of four England players to play in the unsanctioned league, which was created to cash in on Twenty20 cricket in the game's biggest marketplace.

Yet as the competition was not given the blessing of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and consequently the International Cricket Council, players have been warned they jeopardise their futures by playing.

New Zealand Cricket recently terminated the contract of fast bowler Shane Bond and the England and Wales Cricket Board this week hardened their stance.

The ECB reminded Englishmen their chances of playing international cricket could be diminished and also overseas players who take part could be barred from the county game.

The BCCI responded by setting up their own Indian Premier League competition, which like the ICL is offering big money to players.

Nixon admits the situation is not unlike the one-day cricket schism of the 1970s when media mogul Kerry Packer set up a rival series.

The Leicestershire captain told BBC Radio 5Live: "It's going to be fascinating to see what happens.

"Cricketers want to be well looked after and give something back to the game.

"The vibe in India - over 500 million people, who were cricket crazy, was amazing.

"It's about getting the top stars - the kids want to be like the top guys as we wanted to be David Gower and Ian Botham. That's what's going to happen over there as well.

"I think this is going to do the same as Kerry Packer. People will look back and think it's all a storm in a teacup and I think there's room for two competitions."

Nixon claims it is harsh to punish players for playing in the ICL, particularly in England as the last competition occurred out of the season.

He insists the players who travelled over to play have done no damage to county cricket.

He added: "Darren Maddy, Chris Read, Vikram Solanki, Stuart Law and myself all loved our trip.

"Guys like myself and a lot of cricketers apart from centrally-contracted ones are looking for work in the winter. Our contracts run from April to September and the rest of the time it's up to us.

"I don't know how far things would go in terms of restraint of trade but I hope it doesn't ever get to that stage.

"Guys who have made decisions to go abroad care about county cricket and have taken a lot of money to make sure they get their game right."

Nixon had the opportunity to return to India for the next ICL event but is concentrating on preparations for the season with Leicestershire.

The 37-year-old, who kept wicket for England in last year's World Cup, added: "I had a look at another tournament coming up in next couple of weeks but I'm not going to do that because I want to stay with Leicestershire. My energy and focus is on captaining them."

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