IND vs NZ: “There’s No Need”- Ex-IND Head Coach Ravi Shastri Believes Indians Should Not Play in Overseas T20 League
IND vs NZ: Team India was knocked out of the T20 World Cup after losing to England in the semi-final. Following that, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid stated that Indian players should participate in overseas T20 leagues to gain more exposure to conditions around the world. A few other former cricketers also advocated for the same and urged the BCCI to allow Indian players to play in other leagues.
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri, on the other hand, has a different take. He reckons that there is no need for Indian players to play in other leagues. However, Shastri also pointed out that the Indian domestic system is already strong, and we should focus on our system. Notably, the Indian Board hasn’t allowed any Indian player to play in any other T20 league apart from the IPL. And if anyone wants to play, they need to retire from cricket.
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IND vs NZ: “There’s no need to play in overseas leagues” – Ravi Shastri
There is a big perception that the Indian cricketers who don’t play in other leagues like the BBL or the Hundred are not able to perform well overseas as compared to the players from other countries. Even Dravid admitted that this could be one of the reasons for the absence of the Indian players. In a virtual discussion on Amazon Prime Video, Shastri shared his personal opinion on the topic. He said,
There is enough domestic cricket. Plus, you get these India A tours, and you get a lot of these other tours, where at one given time you might have two Indian teams playing in the future. So there’s no need [to play in overseas leagues]. They’re absolutely fine playing IPL cricket and focusing on domestic cricket. We need them to play domestic cricket in India as well.
After the T20 World Cup, India has travelled to New Zealand for a white-ball series, starting on November 18. Both teams will play three T20Is, followed by three ODIs. The BCCI has given rest to their senior players like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli. As a result, Hardik Pandya will captain the T20I team, while Shikhar Dhawan will captain the ODI team. Thus, this is the right opportunity for youngsters to show their worth in the absence of other key players.
