Important discussion in the Apex Council meeting. (Photo- PTI)
BCCI Apex Council Meeting: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to prepare a new retirement policy for its players who suddenly choose to retire to play in foreign T20 leagues. This serious issue was discussed in detail in an important meeting of the Apex Council recently. The board is concerned about the fact that Indian cricketers are announcing premature retirement from international or domestic cricket and IPL to be a part of lucrative offers from foreign leagues.
Important discussion in Apex Council meeting
According to BCCI rules, any active Indian cricketer, whether international, part of the domestic circuit or under IPL contract, is not allowed to play in any foreign T20 or franchise league. Players can move to foreign leagues only when they completely retire from all formats of Indian cricket and IPL. Taking advantage of the loophole of this rule, in recent times many players have signed agreements with foreign teams as soon as they retired.
BCCI’s new masterplan
According to reports, in the Apex Council meeting, it was considered to introduce a cooling-off period to stop the increasing inclination of players towards foreign leagues. According to the discussion, if an Indian player retires and goes straight to play in foreign leagues, he can be banned for at least 5 years if he returns to the Indian cricket system. That means he will not be able to be a part of Indian cricket for 5 years. The purpose of this strict step is to send a message to the players that they should take the decision of retirement very thoughtfully.
The board wants the country’s important talents and experienced players to contribute to maintaining the Indian domestic structure and the prestige of the IPL for a long time. However, the responsibility of finalizing this policy and examining its legal aspects has been entrusted to the President and Secretary of BCCI.
