SYDNEY, Australia (IANS) The Indian cricket board has declined the invitation of Cricket Australia to play in the Big Bash, as the Twenty20 league clashes with India’s tour Down Under, and also the domestic season back home. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated that it is not in a position to release the players for the Bash as India’s tour of Australia and its own domestic season coincide with the October-March Australian season.
The popular Indian Premier League is played immediately after the Indian and Australian seasons, giving the players from both the countries a chance to play without any hassles.
As many as 35 Australians are playing in the 10 IPL franchises. Even retired stalwarts like Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne are in great demand.
“In fact, last year some teams wanted Indian players and they were not available because of the domestic tournament,” Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI chief administrative officer, was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday.
Shetty said only the BCCI has the discretion to allow players to compete in the overseas tournaments and no one, including the new India coach Duncan Fletcher, can have any say in this.
‘It’s a policy decision of the board, the new coach has nothing to do with that, and when there is a domestic tournament on I don’t think we will release any players. Sri Lanka now has some league in the month of July and it doesn’t clash with our domestic tournament. So whoever wants to go with prior permission can participate,’ Shetty added.
The international schedule suggests that England players will be available for the first half of the Big Bash while New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh players for the second. Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard are the West Indies players who should be up for grabs.