Five Indian players who will benefit from playing in foreign T20 leagues

Yusuf Pathan was not given an NOC by the BCCI to play in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz

The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League will see participation from the top Indian as well as international cricket players. The sport’s most lucrative franchise league format is coveted by players worldwide and they eagerly await the auctions hoping to be picked up by one of the franchises.

However, while inviting international cricketers to participate in its league, the BCCI has been reluctant to allow Indian players to play in foreign T20 leagues – with the recent instance of Yusuf Pathan not being allowed to play in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz.

While the BCCI may want to balance the players’ workload as well as involvement in domestic cricket and hence limit their participation in foreign leagues, the international exposure can be beneficial for some players – which could also go on to be an advantage for the national team.

LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 05: Harmanpreet Kaur of the Thunder bats during the Women's Big Bash League match between the Sydney Thunder and the Hobart Hurricanes at Aurora Stadium on January 5, 2017 in Launceston, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) — Harmanpreet Kaur playing in the Women’s Big Bash League

Talented and promising players, who are on the fringes of the national team, could benefit from playing in these international leagues. Playing in foreign conditions and interacting with top players and coaches in the world will help the players and also potentially the Indian national team.

The BCCI could look at the example of Harmanpreet Kaur whose stint in the Women’s Big Bash League (where she was the first Indian player to participate) helped her gain exposure to Australian conditions, thereby allowing her to develop as a player.

Also read: 5 reasons why Indian Cricketers should be permitted to play overseas T20 leagues

We look at five players who could benefit by being allowed to participate in foreign T20 leagues:

#1 Sanju Samson

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 02: Sanju Samson of India 'A' unsuccessfully attempts a run out during the Cricket Australia Quadrangular Series Final match between Australia 'A' and India 'A' at Marrara Oval on August 2, 2014 in Darwin, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) — Sanju Samson hasn’t yet managed to justify the hype around him in his early days

Mentored by Rahul Dravid, the wicket-keeper from Kerala was tipped by many to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s successor in the national team when he shone in the IPL as a teenager.

However, with some indifferent performances in domestic cricket along with disciplinary issues with the Kerala Cricket Association, coupled with the improved performances of his competitors, the 22-year-old finds himself behind Wriddhiman Saha, Parthiv Patel and even young Rishabh Pant in the pecking order.

While Samson hasn’t taken his performances in the IPL to a higher level, his reputation as an impactful wicket-keeper batsman is still intact to an extent. There is bound to be some interest in a few franchises in the foreign T20 leagues if the player is given permission to play in them.

The international exposure will only help him develop as a player and an individual and good performances in foreign conditions will bring Samson back in the reckoning for national team selection.