The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not allow its players to play in foreign T20 leagues like the Big Bash League (BBL) or The Hundred. While the Indian cricket board has never explained the reason behind its decision, former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has explained it. In the process, he also gave a befitting reply to Adam Gilchrist who had raised this query.
The former India captain has said that the BCCI does not give a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to its players because it wants them to stay fresh. Gavaskar also took a dig at Gilchrist by saying that he wants Indian players to take part in such leagues just for the sake of more sponsors.
“Some overseas former players have said that the Indian players should be allowed to play the Big Bash or the Hundred. Basically, they want their leagues to have more sponsorship etc. They are concerned about their cricket, which is totally understandable,” said Gavaskar.
But when Indian cricket looks to protect its cricket by ensuring that their players stay fresh for their matches and thus restricting them from playing overseas, that is not acceptable to the guys from the ‘old powers,’ Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
The legendary cricketer further questioned why these cricketers are only seeking players’ availability and not support staff as well who can also do a great job.
“They are talking only about the Indian players being made available for their country’s leagues but not the support staff or others who also can do a wonderful job, as the cricketing world has found out over the last half dozen years or so. The IPL, for a while, ran the danger of being called the Australian league, with not just the Aussie players dominating the composition of the teams but the coaches and support staff too. It’s never a two-way street for the ‘old powers’ of cricket,” he said.