Will Indian players be allowed to play: There is uncertainty over the Indian cricketers’ participation in overseas T20 leagues.
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The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) recently gave the impression of softening its long-standing stand of not allowing Indian players to play in overseas tournaments – primarily T20 leagues.
When former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was given the permission to lead Toronto Nationals in the recently concluded Global T20 League Canada 2019, it seemed as if the Indian board would continue to allow other players to play outside of India.
The decision came as a major source of relief for veteran cricketers whom the current selectors don’t consider for selection. Having said that, if recent reports are to be believed, the board will keep its stand of restricting the Indian players to Indian tournaments only.
This Indipendence day Let us all pledge to build our country with better healthcare, equal opportunities and education for all. Lets empower ourselves by empowering others as power is the ability to do good things for others. Jai Hind. 🙏🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/FsFbUGV5OE
— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) August 15, 2019
Will Indian players be allowed to play
What happened in Yuvraj’s [Singh] case was a one-off and we aren’t looking at handing out any NOCs at present for playing in foreign leagues. We discussed the matter, but felt no action is required to be taken on the issue,” a CoA member was quoted as saying in an interview with IANS.
Reacting on CoA’s U-turn, a BCCI member questioned the consistency with respect to the decision-making. The official believed that such decisions are unfair on certain players. “There is something called consistency, but clearly not under the current administration in the board. Arbitrary decision making isn’t the way when it comes to players and their careers.
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“There might be quite a few former players who are no longer part of the scheme of things when it comes to the Indian team who would have thought of retiring and playing in T20 leagues. This sudden U-turn is unfair on them,” the official said.
In the six matches that Yuvraj played in the tournament, he scored 153 runs at an average of 38.25 and a strike rate of 145.71 including a half-century. Other than Yuvraj, his Punjab teammate Manpreet Gony also played three matches for Toronto in the same tournament.
