After their T20 World Cup semi-final loss to England, India head coach Rahul Dravid talked about whether the participation of Indian players in franchise T20 leagues could help the national side’s performance. However, he also noted the challenges going down such a route could bring.
Many of England’s players have featured in the Big Bash League previously – something that might have given them the edge against India at the Adelaide Oval. Alex Hales has played 60 BBL games, giving him vital conditions in Australian conditions going into the tournament. India, on the other hand, have kept their players isolated from franchise T20 leagues, only allowing current players to participate in the IPL.
Dravid was quick to acknowledge the upside to England’s players playing in the BBL, but hinted that that might not be possible for India to recreate. He also quipped that it could have a detrimental impact on the Ranji Trophy and in turn, India’s Test fortunes.
“I mean, sure, there’s no doubt about it the fact that England – a lot of their players have come here and played. In this tournament, it certainly showed. It’s tough. I think it’s very difficult for Indian cricket because a lot of these tournaments happen right in the peak of our season.
“I think it’s a huge challenge for us. Yes, I think a lot of our boys maybe do miss out on the opportunities of playing in a lot of these leagues, but if you were to – it’s really up to the BCCI to make that decision, but the thing is it’s right in the middle of our season, and with the kind of demand there would be for Indian players, if you allowed all the Indian players to play in these leagues, we would not have a domestic cricket. Our domestic trophy, our Ranji trophy would be finished, and that would mean Test cricket would be finished,” Dravid said.
The India head coach also drew parallels with how the West Indies players have chosen franchise cricket over international cricket, saying that it is not a route he would want Indian cricket to go down.
“I know a lot of people talk about it, but we have to be very careful when we – we have to understand the challenges that Indian cricket faces or the BCCI would face in a situation like this. You’d see all our boys — like a lot of boys being asked to play leagues right bang in the middle of our season.
“We’ve seen what that’s done to West Indian cricket, and I would definitely not want Indian cricket to go that way. It would certainly affect our Ranji trophy; it would affect Test cricket. Indian boys playing Test cricket is pretty important for the Test game, as well, I would think,” Dravid added.
India’s next T20I assignment begins in a few days when they travel to New Zealand for a three-match T20I series. After the heartbreak at the T20 World Cup, they would hope to get back to winning ways soon.
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