'No policy on Indian players' participation in foreign leagues'

NEW DELHI: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice-President Rajeev Shukla said on Tuesday that the board does not have any policy that allows Indian players to participate in foreign cricket leagues.

The remarks came in the wake of rumours about former Indian captain and current Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni mentoring Johannesburg Super Kings, a side owned by his franchise for the inaugural edition of Cricket South Africa (CSA) T20 League.

A BCCI official said that the board will not allow its players to take part in any foreign cricket leagues.

"We do not provide our players to any other cricket league abroad.

We have a straight policy regarding this. Our Indian Premier League is itself a huge league and we cannot allow any of our players to attach themselves to any foreign league in any manner," Shukla told ANI.

South Africa and UAE Cricket board have announced their T20 League, set to start next year.

With IPL franchises like Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders buying teams across these two leagues, it was expected that Indian players would also feature in these two leagues.

But BCCI wants players to fulfil their commitments towards the board and IPL.

Earlier in April, Cricket South Africa (CSA) and SuperSport TV announced the formation of a t20 competition featuring six private-owned franchises starting from January 2023 onwards.

Later in July, the Emirates Cricket Board confirmed that the inaugural International League T20 (ILT20) League will be played between the window of January 6 to February 12, 2023.

The six-team franchise-style League will be played over a 34-match schedule at world-renowned, world-class venues in UAE.

The first event is scheduled to be played in the window of January 6 and February 12, 2023.