Cricketing fraternity and the fans are eagerly waiting for the T10 Cricket League (TCL), as a few Indian players have shown interest in competing in the tournament.
According to the reports of Sportstar, with Virender Sehwag will be seen leading the Maratha Arabians franchise in the league, which begins in Sharjah on December 14,the organisers of the tournament have been trying to rope in a few other cricketers like Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, and Ashish Nehra — players who are either retired or are out of the national contract.
Shaji-Ul Mulk, the founder of the TCL, affirmed, “Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra, and Zaheer Khan have shown their keenness to play in the league. We are in touch with their agents, but as of now, the BCCI hasn’t given them the permission. So we have to wait.”
However, Mulk also added that these three players can only come on-board even after the first draft is over on November 5 if they get requisite permission from the BCCI. He said, “That can be done. But we are waiting for the clearance. As of now, Sehwag is the only Indian representation we have.”
The response from the BCCI has not been affirmative as the BCCI secretary, Amitabh Chaudhary termed TCL as an ‘unapproved league’, and indicated that the Indian players will not be given permission to play in the tournament. He said, “Any league, whether overseas or in India, which is not approved by the Board will be considered non-authorised. It’s a clear position and we are absolutely unequivocal on that.”
Quite interestingly, the TCL got the support of the Emirates Cricket Board and the organizers have got the clearance from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to conduct the league as well.
As per the reports of, Sportstar, the player-contract form states, “It is understood that TCL is an official UAE Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) licensed and sanctioned league and T Ten Sports Management FZE [sic] (A Mulk Holdings Group Company). The TCL shall be executed only after the approval of the ICC.”
A few months ago, media reports quoted the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) head, Vinod Rai, that he will be looking into the matter of allowing the Indian players to play in other leagues. He said, “We have not heard anything from players. As per the rule, the BCCI doesn’t allow its players to participate in other leagues. But if it is for retired cricketers, then we have to check. I don’t know if Sehwag is involved in any Board-related activities. If not, then things are different.”
