BCCI keen on plugging the domicile loophole in the new domestic season

Many cricketers from other states are exploring options to play for the new teams in domestic cricket.

     BCCI | AFP

With the task of organizing a mega domestic season looming on BCCI, they have a new headache on their hands. With many new teams joining the Indian cricket domestic structure, BCCI has to also ensure that local talents from the states like Bihar, North-East, and Puducherry get their dues.

Some players who have been ignored by their home states are trying to get into these new teams by showing their roots and using that as domicile to qualify. As per BCCI rules, a state can benefit from the services of three professional cricketers from other states. However, it seems the new teams could exploit the domicile loophole given the paucity of time to prepare for the domestic season.

"There are a lot of players who have played for Delhi from a young age but are struggling to hold on to their places in the stateside. Their families come from Uttarakhand and thus, they are mulling a move. Some players' fathers have registered businesses in the NE states. They are also eligible to play there. The option of sending youngsters to these states to study so that they can easily play first-class cricket later is always there," a BCCI source close to the development told TOI.

"If the locals who have trained on their home turf all their lives don't get to play, then it defeats the purpose of promoting local talent," a BCCI official reckoned.

TOI also reveals that the NE states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland are under pressure to string together a team. Two years ago, BCCI had started a program to prepare cricketers from various age-groups under the National Cricket Academy. The board organized specialized camps for wicketkeepers and spinners in the northeast.

"The board had a vision of easing these teams into top-flight cricket through junior cricket. They don't have enough resources. Hope the locals don't get demoralized if the senior teams struggle to compete," the official added.

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 29 Jul, 2018

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