プレイヤーがインドの試合を選ぶのを防ぐために計画しているBCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly working on a bold new clause in players’ central contracts, aiming to curb the growing trend of players withdrawing from national duty without a valid reason. With incidents like Rohit Sharma skipping the Perth Test despite being captain and Ravichandran Ashwin deciding to retire midway in the BGT after being dropped, the board is determined to reinforce accountability.

What is BCCI planning to change?

Sources suggest that the new clause will require players to provide a strong medical or personal reason before pulling out of a series. “Once selected, a player must be available unless there’s an unavoidable emergency,” an official familiar with the discussions revealed to the Cricblogger. The move is seen as a response to recent instances where senior players, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, have taken paternity leaves, and MS Dhoni has made unceremonious exits in the past. While personal reasons are understandable, the BCCI wants to ensure that such decisions do not disrupt team planning at the last minute.

If this stands true, this is quite interesting from BCCI’s point of view. Planning to go out due to paternity leave won’t be an ad hoc decision and hence it is something that player would’ve communicated with the board weeks before. Hence, to punish them for that, it won’t be understandable.

Latest on Cricket

Reviving domestic cricket to ensure accountability

Another major step being considered is making domestic cricket mandatory for all contracted players. The idea is to prevent players from prioritising T20 leagues or personal workload management over domestic tournaments, which are the backbone of Indian cricket. Ensuring that even senior players regularly feature in the Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy would not only strengthen the domestic circuit but also keep them match-ready when not on international duty.

We just saw Virat Kohli dazzling the Arun Jaitley Stadium. His magnetism is such that fans jostled outside stadiums hours before the match, that too, a rather inconsequential last league match of the Ranji Trophy. KL Rahul turned up for Karnataka after Rohit Sharma soared up the heat for Mumbai. Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj are such other examples as well.

This policy would also send a strong message to younger cricketers aspiring to play for India—national duty comes first. The BCCI seems determined to bring back discipline in the system, making sure that opting out of a match isn’t a personal decision but a well-justified one.