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Last year, Dinesh Karthik created history by playing for Paarl Royals in SA20, but this time no Indian player will be seen on the field.
SA20 commissioner and former South African captain Graeme Smith has described it as a “Fluid Situation”.
What is the whole matter?
Smith said in a virtual conversation with the Indian media, “Indian players is always a fluid situation depending on who’s retiring and who’s available. I think it was like 13 or 14 Indian players in the auction.”
Meaning, the participation of Indian players depends on who is retiring and who is available.
This time 13-14 Indian players had given their names for the auction, which included names like Piyush Chawla, Siddharth Kaul, Ankit Rajput.
But from the long list of more than 800 names, the franchise did not shortlist any Indian.
BCCI’s strict rule
The rule of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is clear – no active Indian player, whether international or domestic, can play in foreign T20 leagues.
The player has to first retire from all forms of cricket in India and then get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from BCCI. Dinesh Karthik had adopted this path, after which he was able to play in SA20.
This time Ravichandran Ashwin, who recently retired from IPL, has given his name for the UAE’s ILT20 league, which is happening along with SA20.
Explaining the auction process, Smith said,
“What we do is we send the auction lists, which was over 800 names, to the franchises. They then send us their short-list back and then we collate a shortened list that goes to the auction.”
That is, more than 800 names are sent to the franchises, they make a shortlist of their choice, and then the final list is ready for auction.
Smith also said that the lack of Indian players in foreign leagues is not a new thing.
“You don’t see an abundance of them involved in T20 leagues around the world. It’s not a new thing.”
Although there will be no Indian players on the field, Sourav Ganguly will definitely bring the Indian color as the head coach of Pretoria Capitals.
Smith said, “For us, it’s exciting to have a coach of Dada’s quality.” Ganguly’s experience will make SA20 more exciting.
Currently, 241 foreign and 308 South African players will participate in the SA20 auction.