PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has launched a blistering critique of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) strategy of restricting its players from participating in overseas T20 leagues, calling it an unsustainable model that will ultimately “backfire.”
“India holds the cricketing nuclear button,” President Ali acknowledged in a powerful statement on Tuesday, recognising India’s undeniable status as the superpower of world cricket regarding talent, finance, and infrastructure.
However, he immediately questioned the wisdom of India’s current approach. “Control through exclusion and market dominance may yield short-term gains, but an open, level playing field is the only sustainable model for long-term growth,” he asserted.
The President’s most pointed criticism was reserved for the BCCI’s longstanding policy of barring its non-retired players from global leagues outside the IPL. He argued that the policy is a massive missed opportunity for India’s vast talent pool.
“India cannot be developing the level of talent it is developing just for its borders,” Dr. Ali stressed. “It’s like boxing. You can’t be a world champion if you only want to fight in your borders. And BCCI is doing an enormous disservice to the magnitude of talent that India has by not allowing participation in this league.”
He framed this opportunity in diplomatic and cultural terms, even suggesting that the BCCI could start with a “Diaspora 11” to tap into the global Indian community.
President Ali wants the Global Super League (GSL), spearheaded by Guyana and backed by Cricket West Indies, to be seen as global partner to existing T20 competitions, not a rival.
The President positioned the GSL—a new, Champions League-style tournament that seeks to bring together the winners of major T20 leagues like the CPL, PSL, BBL, and more—as the sustainable solution.
He stressed that the GSL is not meant to compete with the IPL or any other product, but to partner with them.
“On the economic side, we strongly believe that the product that we have launched – the Global Super League – is not meant to be in competition with any product. It is meant to be in partnership with all the different T20 products,” he explained.
Despite its origins in a “small developing nation,” President Ali touted the GSL’s professionalism, noting, “In the first year, I believe it has ruffled enough feathers. And created enough news for people to understand this is a serious league.”
Drawing on the West Indies’ history of dominance—which he cited as inspiring a young Kapil Dev in Guyana before India’s first World Cup win—Dr. Ali called for a return to a collaborative spirit in global cricket.
He urged the BCCI to reconsider its stance on the global game, especially with nations like Saudi Arabia “investing strategically in sports,” which he noted can “quickly reshape the balance of power.”
Dr. Ali also appealed to the English Cricket Board (ECB), a former cricketing superpower, to join the GSL effort, stating that the ECB “understands better than anyone how swiftly fortune can turn and how essential it is to embrace a vision that strengthens the game for all.”
For Guyana, the GSL is more than just a sports league; it’s a strategic play to position the nation as a hub for sports tourism, trade, and cultural diplomacy, utilising its proximity to the vast cricket-loving Asian diaspora in the USA and the natural West Indian diaspora.
Ultimately, President Ali believes that by rejecting exclusion and embracing a truly global outlook, India would find a “very natural partner” in Guyana, supporting the long-term vitality of the game.