India batsman Suresh Raina has said that BCCI should allow Indian players who are without a central contract to allow them to be included in foreign T20 leagues. As of now, Indian players have not been issued any NOCs to play in any of the overseas leagues, while players from most other cricketing countries have the option to play in multiple other tournaments.
During an Instagram Live chat with Irfan Pathan, Raina felt the need for players who don’t have a central contract with the Indian board should be allowed to feature in overseas cricketing tournaments. He went on to name Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa as well, who are supposedly with him on the issue.
The CSK allrounder feels that inclusion in these kinds of tournaments would help the players maintain good shape and practise their skills further. In 2017, there were reports that said Yusuf Pathan was given the NOC to play in the Hong Kong Blitz but his chance was denied later.
While chatting, Raina said, “I wish BCCI plans something with ICC or the franchises that whichever player is not with a BCCI contract should be allowed to play in foreign T20 leagues. Because I feel there are a lot of players like that. There are many quality players who can go abroad and learn a lot of things, whichever league that is in, where we go, play and BCCI themselves say ‘you go play there’.”
He also mentioned that letting them play may also reflect in their performances where they might show growth and improvement and it would be nothing but a dream to get a call-back in the Indian squad. Other countries allow their players to feature in other leagues and that has already been a huge bonus for some players who had no hope of getting back with their national squad before that.
featured image credits- sportsmonks.com
