AB de Villiers hopes to see ‘more Indian friends’ play in SA20, calls for women’s T20 league in South Africa | Cricket News

Participation of India’s male cricketers in leagues outside the IPL is still not a reality but in the ongoing SA20 – South Africa’s franchise-based T20 tournament – the recently retired Dinesh Karthik made his debut. It is something AB de Villiers hopes to see more of, as the South African stalwart hoped to see more Indian players take part in the league in the near future.
“I have no idea whether it is going to work or not. The BCCI is the most powerful board and they know what they are doing They make the decision on behalf of the players and on behalf of the business they are running. So, it’s not easy for them to just release their players,” De Villers is quoted as saying PTI in a media interaction ahead of the SA20 final between MI CapeTown and Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
“This year we had Robin Uthappa (former India batter) in the commentary box and Dinesh Karthik played for Paarl Royals. I really wish that we can have more Indian friends playing here. I can see it happening but it’s not going to happen next season. It is going to take time,” he said.
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The BCCI restricts India’s active male cricketers from playing leagues other than the IPL to retain exclusivity. While the leading female cricketers take part in tournaments like WBBL, The Hundred and Carribean Premier League, only retired male players can participate in leagues other than IPL.
Incidentally, De Villiers also mooted the idea of a women’s SA20 league too. “I have seen some very successful women’s leagues, the incredibly successful women’s T20WC that South Africa played not very long ago. Women’s cricket in general is growing incredibly fast and there is no reason why there shouldn’t be an SA20 women’s league,” the former SA captain said. “We can pace up as we have got the model and recipe, we can just copy and paste and it would be great for women’s game in the country,” he said. South African women have reached the final of the last two editions of the T20 World Cup as well as the recent U19 World Cup where they lost to India in the title cash.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

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