BCCI needs to rethink county ban on players

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Ishant Sharma, Virender Sehwag and Amit Mishra, after missing the flight to the Caribbean for the World T20 for varied reasons, had plans to head to England. But the BCCI has refused to give them a No-Objection Certificate. More... Caribbean flight missed, now BCCI rips their county tickets Devendra Pandey Posted: Saturday , May 01, 2010 at 0341 hrs Since the time fast bowler Zaheer Khan returned to the national team after a successful stint with Worcestershire in 2006, the English county circuit has been seen as an ideal destination for out-of-form or out-of-favour Indian players. Ishant Sharma, Virender Sehwag and Amit Mishra, after missing the flight to the Caribbean for the World T20 for varied reasons, too had plans to head to England. But the BCCI has refused to give them a No-Objection Certificate. The reason, according to BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty, is Team India’s packed itinerary leading up to the World Cup next year. “We want our players to use their time in training and fitness. That is why we have said no to all our contracted players,” he told The Indian Express on Thursday. BCCI’s stand means Sharma’s talks with Kent and Hampshire ended abruptly. “I have been told that a county stint can really help a pacer. But with the BCCI not allowing me, I won’t be able to go,” he said. At the end of a forgettable Indian Premier League campaign, Ishant’s bowling coach at Kolkata Knight Riders, Wasim Akram, had suggested that the lanky Delhi bowler could gain from county experience. Shetty said that close to three months of non-stop cricket in the county circuit will be physically and mentally tough on the Indian stars — bad news when the BCCI is looking to keep fringe players fit for action. “There is lot of pressure on overseas players in county cricket. And the fringe players will not get enough rest,” he said. Leg-spinner Mishra, however, said he had not planned to spend the entire summer in England. “Worcestershire had approached me for a short stint. So maybe I would have gone there for a month for so. Now I have to make a fresh plan,” he said. Sehwag too had not been keen on a full season. Northamptonshire had approached him for just the T20 competition. Shetty argued that Ishant’s case was different from that of Zaheer. “He is very important for the country. We want to preserve him, so that he can be available whenever the team needs him. As far as the Zaheer was concerned, he was not even in the reckoning when he went to play in England in 2006,” Shetty said. “But,” he added, “the most important thing is the hectic schedule.” Less than two weeks after the World T20, India travel to Zimbabwe for a tri-series. This will be followed by the Asia Cup and three Tests in Sri Lanka. Then there is an ODI series against Australia, New Zealand will visit for a full Test tour, and India go on a lengthy tour of South Africa.

[flamy]

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[DomainK]

It may be a good decision.

[Sooda]

welll you can see wheere the Board is coming from in a way w.r.t Ishant. But if they were so concerned about the strain, there has to be a way to not let the players play countless hours of meaningless IPL A stint with a county side would have benefitted Ishant loads, neeldess to say, far more then being smacked around in the IPL matches. A break could do Sehwag in particular, some good. Mishra could have gone though. He (and more so, Ojha) must be wondering what they have done wrong to allow Piyush to usurp that 2nd spinner slot

[hari504504]

I understand with Sehwag and burn-out fears..but Ishant and Mishra can only get better with a county stint...

[Gunner_Mania]

welll you can see wheere the Board is coming from in a way w.r.t Ishant. But if they were so concerned about the strain' date=' [b']there has to be a way to not let the players play countless hours of meaningless IPL A stint with a county side would have benefitted Ishant loads, neeldess to say, far more then being smacked around in the IPL matches. A break could do Sehwag in particular, some good. Mishra could have gone though. He (and more so, Ojha) must be wondering what they have done wrong to allow Piyush to usurp that 2nd spinner slot

Ishant playing in country does not generate any money to BCCI's coffers, where as Indian :quote: stars :quote: playing IPL does.

[Zelig]

welll you can see wheere the Board is coming from in a way w.r.t Ishant. But if they were so concerned about the strain, there has to be a way to not let the players play countless hours of meaningless IPL A stint with a county side would have benefitted Ishant loads, neeldess to say, far more then being smacked around in the IPL matches. A break could do Sehwag in particular, some good. Mishra could have gone though. He (and more so, Ojha) must be wondering what they have done wrong to allow Piyush to usurp that 2nd spinner slot

Mishra 'nd Ojha are f ckups on the field:orderorder:..that doesn mean I like PC.

[bhajji]

Its a wrong verdict to take that stupd decision .BCCi should think twice befor making any verdicts

[Gunner_Mania]

Its a wrong verdict to take that stupd decision .BCCi should think twice befor making any verdicts

What is wrong in thinking thrice or even 4 times? Why only twice?? and BCCI and thinking in the same sentence?

[donkey]

I agree with Ishant decision, that guy needs to forget how to bowl and start over.

[anup.n1986]

If anyone needs a county stint then its Ishant Sharma. The guy was firing in at 150ks in Australia with such rythm and consistency. I miss that Ishant :hitler::hitler::hitler::hitler:

[saneindian]

WHy don't they simply say, ECB isn't sending its teams for CL, they haven't cut down the county season to accomodate CL or IPL, so we dont want our players to play in England. Ishant , Sreesanth and other Indian pacers would have benefitted a lot playing in county cricket. Not to be. Thank you BCCI.

[The Dark Horse]

should have at least allowed mishra:dontknow:

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BCCI needs to rethink county ban on players With no domestic cricket taking place for the next few months, it is imperative that the BCCI does a rethink of its decision to disallow players from traveling to England. After all, playing even a few competitive matches in the county circuit is better than just lumbering up in the nets at the NCA. More... BCCI needs to rethink county ban on players Last updated on: May 21, 2010 With no domestic cricket taking place for the next few months, it is imperative that the BCCI does a rethink of its decision to disallow players who have not been selected in the Indian team or the India 'A' team from traveling to England to play county cricket, says Senior Associate Editor Harish Kotian. Not so long ago, Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth, R P Singh, Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan were an integral cog in the Indian bowling attack. But things changed drastically over the last couple of seasons. All these fast bowlers were not only dropped from the Indian squad, but also ignored for the upcoming India A tour to England. Worse, all of them, and a few others, were denied permission to play in the ongoing English county season. Piyush Chawla (Sussex), Irfan Pathan (Essex and Yorkshire), S Sreesanth (Warwickshire), Ishant Sharma (Kent and Hampshire), Amit Mishra (Worcestershire) and Virender Sehwag (Northamptonshire) evoked interest from the counties, but were forced to turn down offers. Over the years, Indian players, particularly fast bowlers, used English county cricket as a good tool to prove fitness after injury lay-offs or keep themselves in shape during the Indian off-season. But, strangely, this year the Board of Control for Cricket in India refused all it's contracted players the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in England. Their reasoning -- a season of county cricket, which stretches to nearly three months, can take a toll on the players with a busy international schedule ahead and also keeping the 2011 World Cup in mind. The BCCI want all its players to train at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) under a team of specialised coaches and physical trainers. "We want our players to use their time in training and fitness. That is why we have said no to all our contracted players. "There is lot of pressure on overseas players in county cricket. And the fringe players will not get enough rest," BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty had told The Indian Express earlier this month. But, if they don't get a chance to prove their fitness or form by playing in competitive tournaments like the English county, how will these pacers impress the selectors? This same BCCI never asked any of the franchises to rest the contracted players during the hectic third season of the Indian Premier League last month. A player, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he approached the Board several times for the NOC, but the powers-that-be did not budge. "At the end of the day, I will go by whatever the BCCI decides. I was approached by an English county, but I rejected their offer thinking that I would be playing international matches for India. "But that has not happened, so now I would be happy if they give me the NOC. If they allow me, I will go and play county cricket, else I will be training in India for the next few months to get myself in the best shape for the upcoming season," the player told rediff.com. The player's expectations are not surprising, since the pleasant English summer provides the perfect stage to train and play cricket unlike India, where summer is burning hot and that follows three months of non-stop rain. To add to that are the benefits of playing in a professional environment, which cannot be discounted. The best example that of Zaheer Khan, who returned to the national team after a successful season in 2006 with Worcestershire, where he took 78 wickets and since emerged the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack. Even Piyush Chawla made an impact playing for Sussex last season, when he took 36 wickets and made important contributions with the bat. Former selector Kiran More is if the opinion that players who are on the fringe of selection to the national squad should be encouraged to play county cricket, since there is no domestic cricket happening in the country at that time. "Playing in county cricket helps to improve fitness. It also gets your bowling rhythm back, because you are playing non-stop cricket. It is very unfair on players like Irfan [Pathan] or Sreesanth that they were not given permission, because a fast bowler benefits a lot by playing in English conditions. "County cricket is an excellent platform for the fast bowlers because the conditions are very helpful at the start of the season; if they pick a lot of wickets then they can take that confidence with them while playing for the Indian team," More told rediff.com. "Everyone, including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan, have tried their hand in county cricket to get their form back or keep themselves fit during off-season. So why suddenly has the BCCI stopped its players from going to England?" he asked. Even Zaheer had admitted that it was the county stint that helped him make a comeback to the Indian squad. "It (the county stint) helped me grow as a cricketer. You play six days a week and my bowling fitness improved a lot. It helped me get into a routine which is very helpful for your cricket. You get to experiment with a lot of things, and if you are doing things well you are able to continue those things over a period of time. It definitely gave me a boost in confidence and county is good, competitive cricket," Zaheer had said after a successful stint with Worcestershire in 2006. The BCCI's policy of forcing its players to train at the National Cricket Academy rather than play county cricket makes no sense at all. After all, playing even a few competitive matches in the county circuit is better than just lumbering up in the nets at the NCA.

[Sid]

this is a non sense decision by board which defies cricketing logic,everyone knows what a change one full season of county cricket made to zaheer and also i have heard wasim akram saying that playing county cricket,the amount of bowling you do strengthen your bowling muscles,not only bowlers i think some indian young batsman can also play county cricket for improvement . only reason i can think of this stupid decision is that board may be thinking england may include these indian players in their squad for their next series:hysterical:

[yoda]

what can you say?

[Sachinism]

what can you say?

:finger: BCCI

[Serani]

This "ban" will remain now the ECB has stopped any county from participating in the champions league, BCCI and ECB are now on bad terms it seems.

[coronaerabrahim]

i think what players want Bcci should allow that,Sehwag is senior player. Regards Abrahim

[SRT195]

another brilliant decision from BCCI:whack: county stint will only help some of our young players ... it wont help fill the coffers of BCCI:yawn2: