Is Indian T20 League bullying other boards? Ex-cricketer raises burning questions

Over the years, there have been several debates pertaining to T20 leagues vs international cricket. There have been numerous instances of players choosing to play for their club over their country. This generally doesn't sit well with most of the pundits.

Advertisment

Recently, South African players were in the news for choosing the Indian T20 league over the Test series against Bangladesh. Although the Proteas skipper Dean Elgar had urged his teammates to make themselves available for this series, the players with an Indian T20 league contract opted for the cash-rich league. 

Aakash Chopra spoke about the same and came in support of the biggest T20 league in the world. He drew light on the question "Is the Indian T20 league bullying the other boards?". While speaking on his YouTube channel, the cricketer-turned-commentator said that the BCCI has no hand in making players make a decision about the same.

"The question that stems from this is - Is club bigger than the country? The club versus country debate has caught a little fire again. Dean Elgar had said this will be a loyalty test. The question is - Is ITL bullying the other boards? The Indian T20 league has not said anything, ITL in fact says that when Cricket South Africa gives the NOC (No Objection Certificate), they get 10% from the players' salary. This is how the market of international cricket works," said Aakash Chopra.

Advertisment

He stated that this club vs country debate will keep continuing. Chopra also mentioned that players will choose to play the toughest 20 and boards can't do anything about it. He asked cricket boards not to complicate things for the individuals. "Do not make players make this difficult choice. The club versus country conflict will keep continuing, there will be different opinions on it but the fact is the players will choose the Indian T20 league ahead of bilateral commitments and the boards will not be able to stop it," he added