Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that the Board of Control for Cricket in India treating the Indian Premier League on par with international cricket is the reason why all players are available for the franchise-based tournament while taking a break from the national team.
Chopra was asked about his thoughts on India’s players being rested for the national team but available for the IPL in a video posted to his YouTube channel, to which he responded:
“The overarching theme in this is that ultimately our cricket board has to decide what is important for us. The Indian cricket board has decided that the IPL is absolutely on par with international cricket for us.”
“There is nothing wrong in that because this is your tournament only. You play international cricket also as a team and domestic cricket (IPL) is your tournament. If this tournament is standing on par with NFL or EPL, it is necessary to justify that standard.”
It would be unjust to the franchises if their key players were unavailable for the duration of the tournament. However, India’s main squad must also play consistently together, particularly in the format where a global event is approaching.
Chopra also stated that in order for the Premier League to maintain its status, all Indian players must be available. Chopra concluded by saying that the board does everything possible to ensure that the top 15 players compete in multi-nation tournaments. Due to the frequency of international cricket, he added, they are forced to chop and change slightly in bilateral series.
Meanwhile, the former opener selected his ideal India ODI XI, with veteran batter Shikhar Dhawan and current top ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav being notable omissions. Chopra chose his ODI XI based on the players’ current performances, including the recently concluded ODI series against Bangladesh, which the Men in Blue lost 1-2.
