The newly-enforced guidelines by the BCCI has made featuring in domestic cricket a non-negotiable for centrally contracted players.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently released a 10-clause guidelines for the players contracted with the administrative body to follow. One of the provisions was the participation in the domestic circuit becoming an inflexible component for the players. The only condition through which the players were allowed to skip the domestic matches would be if they provided a valid medical certificate in the case of an injury.
Former Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar, pointed out the loophole in the freshly-instated policy by the BCCI in relation to getting away from the thick of things by procuring a piece of paper.
“More interesting would be what action the BCCI takes if they don’t play. Were they injured? Getting a medical certificate for an ‘injury’ is child’s play, and if they are injured, did they go to the NCA (National Cricket Academy) for treatment and recovery, as Nitish Kumar Reddy was sent the moment he had that side strain? Isn’t that the practice for the BCCI-contracted players, that as soon as there’s an injury, they have to report to the NCA, and only after the BCCI experts there certify them as fit can they resume playing for India? For all we know, these players might have opted out of the earlier games for non-injury reasons,” wrote Gavaskar in his column for Sportstar.
Interestingly, his remarks come after ace Indian batter, Virat Kohli, backed out of Delhi’s sixth group-stage game of the ongoing edition of the Ranji Trophy due to a supposed neck strain.
