Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher admitted that convincing a player of Rohit Sharma’s calibre to play in SA20 could be difficult, given his pay grade in Indian cricket, but believes that bringing SA20 to India in the future could be great despite logistical problems.
The contract regulations with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) prohibit Indian players from competing in international T20 leagues. There were even rumours last year that SA20 could have Indian stars participating because the franchises are owned by IPL teams, with players like MS Dhoni linked to the event ahead of the first edition of the tournament.
Former South African wicket-keeper Mark Boucher, who has more direct access to senior Indian players as the head coach of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, could convince players like Rohit Sharma, who is nearing the conclusion of his cricketing career, to participate in SA20.
“Above his pay grade, I think it’ll be unbelievable if we got some of the Indian players involved. I don’t know, it’s probably above my pay grade to make those decisions. I know that a lot of the Indian players don’t play in any of the leagues around the world other than the IPL. So maybe that’s a BCCI thing. But yes, you’re right. It would be fantastic to see some of the top Indian players playing in the South African league”.
It would definitely boost our league to a different level, as I’m sure there might be a lot of other countries that have got their own home leagues that they would love Indian guys to play in their leagues as well. But as I said, it hasn’t happened for whatever reason. It may be maybe in the future. We might see one or two players coming through and playing in these leagues but yeah, I’m not too sure. As I said, I think it’s above my pay grade to answer or ask questions of the BCCI,” Mark Boucher said to the Hindustan Times.
The BCCI restated their stance ahead of the SA20’s inaugural season in 2023. However, once an Indian player announces his retirement from all forms of cricket, including the IPL, he is eligible to compete in international tournaments.
SA20 league commissioner Graeme Smith believes MS Dhoni would play in the league shortly after retiring from the IPL, while former South African batter AB de Villiers urged Virat Kohli to play his final season of cricket in South Africa before retiring.
