Unmukt Chand opened up about the potential impact on domestic cricket if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) allows Indian players to participate in foreign leagues, like other cricket boards.
Unlike cricketers from other countries, who are allowed to participate in various franchise T20 leagues worldwide, Indian players are restricted to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and can only consider overseas opportunities after retirement from all Indian cricket.
Recently, Chand, who led India U19 to the 2012 World Cup title, highlighted the clash between overseas league schedules and domestic competitions and said that allowing players to play in foreign leagues could severely affect the importance of domestic tournaments.
Unmukt Chand told Times Now: “I think there are a few technicalities involved that's why I think the BCCI doesn't let the players go and play other leagues. Obviously, as a player you would want to maximize the opportunities of playing, you want to play and it's also like sometimes you have seen that David Warner doing well in IPL gets him back into the Australian side so it's also a way to come back into your sides.”
Chand added, “Most of the tournaments get played during the domestic tournament when the Ranji Trophy is going on, T20 is going, one day Vijay Hazare is going on so if players start going away, then the domestic tournament will die. There are a few technicalities involved…It's for the BCCI to answer but as a player, if you ask me, I would want to go anywhere and everywhere.”
The USA star also talked about the highly-anticipated clash between rivals India and Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held on June 9 in New York.
He said, “It's always crazy. People are going to be really excited to watch it and watch the games. It's happening in the US for the first time. So yes, people are looking forward to it. It's not a big stadium, I'm assuming. So, it will be a little difficult for everyone to sort of get in.”
Chand signed off by saying, “But yeah, there's a lot of, you know, noise already being created around the buzz around the World Cup. Obviously, India playing in the USA, a number of games, I'm sure that will all be easily housefuls.”
(With Times Now Inputs)
