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Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has answered the question that fans keep asking, will active Indian players ever be allowed to play in overseas T20 leagues? While he doesn’t think that will happen in the near future, he said that hopefully the BCCI will continue with its current policy.
Over the past few years, many foreign leagues have grown rapidly, and fans often wonder if India’s biggest stars could one day feature in tournaments like The Hundred, Big Bash League, SA20 or Major League Cricket. But Ashwin believes that the possibility is still far away.
Ravichandran Ashwin explains why BCCI does not allow active Indian players to play in foreign leagues
The BCCI has always followed a strict rule when it comes to the participation of Indian players in foreign franchise leagues. Any player who is still active in Indian cricket is not allowed to play in foreign leagues. To become eligible, a player must first retire from all forms of Indian cricket.
Well, Ravichandran Ashwin feels there is a strong reason behind this approach. IPL has become the biggest T20 league in the world and one of the main reasons for this is that all the leading Indian cricketers play only in the tournament. As the former Indian all-rounder believes, keeping them exclusive till the IPL helps BCCI maintain its popularity and value.
The BBC quoted Ravichandran Ashwin as saying, “The honest answer is no. Whether you agree with it or not, the economic model makes a lot of sense for the game, and the IPL probably stands at the peak of a higher valuation than some of the other leagues. The IPL has been able to retain the quality of players, especially local players, and Indian players are heavily marketed in the country.”
Don’t think it’s going to happen: Ashwin on Indian players in foreign leagues
Interestingly, Ravichandran Ashwin himself is currently playing for a team in Major League Cricket in America. He became eligible for this only after his retirement from Indian cricket. He had also planned to play in ILT20 and Big Bash League, but that could not happen.
However, the former Indian off-spinner believes that retired Indian cricketers can be seen in foreign leagues, but he does not expect active or centrally contracted Indian players to get the same nod in the near future. Why did Ravichandran Ashwin not play with Haris Rauf in San Francisco Unicorns’ MLC 2026 opener?
Ashwin further added, “To be able to get them to go to another league, especially when they are contracted to play for their country, I don’t think that’s going to happen. But you will see the odd cricketer here and there who will come and play in some of these leagues.”
BCCI is considering new rules to stop early retirement
The matter came under discussion again after Vijay Shankar announced his retirement from Indian cricket and immediately signed up for the Lanka Premier League.
Soon after, reports claimed that the BCCI was considering a new five-year cooling-off rule to prevent players from retiring early to play in foreign leagues, as several cases like that of Ambati Rayudu and Vijay were coming to light.