Adam Gilchrist called for the BCCI to allow Indian players to play in other overseas leagues in order to let other competitions prosper as well. Gilchrist himself played six seasons in the IPL, winning the tournament in 2009 with the Deccan Chargers as their captain.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) was started in 2008 by the BCCI and since then all the Indian players have only appeared in the IPL only as BCCI has refrained from allowing them to appear in other leagues until they don’t retire from international cricket and the IPL.
The likes of Yuvraj Singh played in the Canada T20 League after calling time on his India and IPL career, while Pravin Tambe had to retire from the IPL to play in the Abu Dhabi T10 league and later CPL. Recently, Unmukt Chand became the first Indian player to play in BBL, after retiring from all cricket in India and moving to the USA.
"It will be wonderful (If the Indian players are allowed to play in overseas T20 leagues). I personally feel that it won't diminish or damage the IPL, it will only grow it. If they (the Indian players) can play in Australia or South Africa... but the challenge is that we are all playing our domestic season at the same time, so that is a hard thing, isn't it? The power of the dollar has carved out a window for the IPL. I get that it will be nice if other nations were given some ability for their T20 competitions and their cricket to prosper. It's a two-way street," Gilchrist said at a New South Wales Government event on Friday.
The policy of BCCI to not allow top Indian stars to compete in the rival T20 leagues is to ensure the exclusivity of the IPL, which attracts millions and millions of dollars and recently was given a two-and-a-half-month window from next year onwards by the ICC for an extended tournament which now has 10 teams participating in it.
"I really want to highlight six seasons (that I played in the IPL). I loved it, it was a great experience. It is the premier T20 competition in the world, but it is important to allow other boards and countries to prosper as well. It can't be all about one country's cricket, I think that is really important. I am not accusing them of it, but it is important," Gilchrist added.
He felt that if the BCCI was recruiting overseas players for the IPL, it needed to reciprocate the gesture to enable other boards and leagues to prosper.
“If an Australian player goes and plays in other leagues, what are those leagues doing to help development of the game in Australia given that they are taking one of their prized assets away? And I understand why that prized asset will go. I'm not criticizing the IPL, but why won't Indian players come and play in the Big Bash league? I've never had an open and honest answer: Why are some leagues accessing every player in the world? No Indian player plays in any other T20 league.
I am not saying in a provocative sense, but is that a fair question? If there is a second IPL window, and I believe that's the proposal, that it is going to start encroaching more on international cricket so Australian players, the English players… that's going to damage even further the domestic tournament in those countries, but India still won't help them build their market. It doesn't seem like a two-way street," he elaborated.
Gilchrist also felt that time was ripe for the ICC to step in and help "keep the game alive in other cricketing nations."
"I understand the philosophy of the value the IPL gets from exclusivity (of Indian players) but is that a balanced, even playing field for the health of the game globally? It's going to make a lot of money for the IPL, the franchise owners and certain players. (But) Is it going to keep the game alive in other cricketing nations... and that is the question for the ICC. We are talking dollars, profit, aren't we, as opposed to game development," Gilchrist stressed.
Amidst the talk of IPL and BCCI, Gilchrist reserved special praise for Indian keeper-batter Rishabh Pant. He recently scored his maiden ODI century and had played a huge part in India winning back-to-back Test series in Australia.
"He is one of the most exciting cricketers to watch. I think he just lights up a stage, and makes an electric atmosphere when he is playing. That is wonderful. The BCCI, the management and the selectors will just need to be patient with him. A few innings if he doesn't score… they shouldn't be too harsh on him. Because you don't want to suppress his natural flair," said Gilchrist.
(Times of India inputs)
