It is common knowledge that Indian players under a central contract or playing in the Indian T20 League are not permitted to participate in any overseas leagues. However, there has always been discussion about whether players should be allowed to play in other leagues.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has agreed with Rahul Dravid that Indian players do not need to play in overseas leagues. He believes that a strong domestic system exists. “We should focus on our country rather than looking elsewhere,” he said.
There is a widespread belief that Indian players who are unable to compete in international leagues such as the Big Bash League or the Hundred are at a competitive disadvantage when compared to players from other countries, who have access to a broader range of playing environments.
When asked about this after India’s 20-20 World Cup semi-finals match against England, Dravid admitted that some English players may have had an advantage due to their BBL experience in better gauging the semi-finals venue Adelaide.
He also mentioned that the majority of these T20 tournaments take place during India’s domestic season, making it difficult for Indian players to play in foreign leagues. Furthermore, given how well-liked Indian athletes are around the world, their participation may be detrimental to domestic cricket.
They’re absolutely fine focusing on domestic cricket: Ravi Shastri
“There is enough domestic cricket for all these players to get absorbed in the system and get an opportunity. Plus, you get these India A tours, and you get a lot of these other tours, where at one given time you might have two Indian teams playing in the future, where the opportunity will come for the other lot to go somewhere else whilst India is in another country – to go play and see what you know they can do,” Shastri said during a virtual interaction with the press facilitated by Amazon Prime Video.
Shastri felt that the players had already received enough exposure through domestic cricket, the Indian T20 League, and India A tours. “So there’s no need [to play in overseas leagues], they’re absolutely fine playing IPL cricket and focusing on domestic cricket. We need them to play domestic cricket in India as well,” he added.
