Indian Players In SA20? Ab De Villiers Appeals To BCCI For Special Rule In The Future
by SW Cricket · SportzwikiThe former captain of South Africa, Ab de Villiers, has hoped that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would allow more Indian players to take part in future editions of the SA20, which will raise their experience and also help to raise the profile of the two-season old franchise league.
The former Indian wicket-keeper batter, who was part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the previous season, will become the first Indian batter to compete in the SA20, but that was made possible only because of the Tamil Nadu veteran declared his retirement from the international and domestic circuit.
The uniqueness of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is to have the Indian players. None of the franchise leagues apart from that have the chance to get these players. The only other Indian player because Karthik took part in an overseas T20 league was Ambati Rayudu, who took his retirement to be part of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Ab de Villiers requests more Indian players for the SA20 season in the future
The BCCI doesn’t allow their active players to take part in these overseas leagues around the globe, and generally, the only way to play the events outside India is by calling time on their career at home.
The Pretoria-born Ab de Villiers feels that there has been a growing trend of cricketers taking their early retirements in the country to try their luck in the various overseas leagues.
“I would love to see more Indian players involved. We know Dinesh Karthik will be here this year, which is fantastic, and it’s great for the tournament.” The former batter of the Rainbow Nation addressed during the media interaction ahead of the third edition of the SA20 league, which begins on January 09.
“And hopefully, the BCCI will allow us to get more Indian players in the future to come and join the fun of the SA20.” The former member of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) side in the IPL highlighted.
No matter what can be said, the veteran is well aware that the BCCI is not going to make active Indian players available for the overseas leagues anytime soon. The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and MS Dhoni have only turned out for the respective franchises in the league.
“We (SA20) can just keep growing with regards to the overseas players. That’s a large part of the success of the IPL over the years, and I’ve followed the IPL since 2008. It’s every year the overseas contingents seem to get stronger and stronger.” Ab de Villiers shed light.
The first two seasons of the SA20 were quite successful, with full excitement and action-packed events. The various overseas players around the globe also increased the brand value of the tournament, whose third season will begin with the two-champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, led by Aiden Markram, taking on the Rashid Khan-led side MI Cape Town at the St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.
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Ab de Villiers reckoned that the main goal for the team behind the scenes of the league, consisting of the most successful former Test captain, Graeme Smith, will be to keep looking for different overseas players.
“You get the best players in the world and the best players in India, and that combination makes for great cricket. So I think, for Graeme Smith and his team moving forward, it’s just to keep pushing hard, as hard as they can (to get the best overseas talent).” Ab de Villiers responded.