Rahul Dravid’s stance that Indian players don’t need to compete in foreign competitions is shared by Zaheer Khan and Ravi Shastri. With a strong domestic system already in place, they believe, “we should concentrate on our nation rather than looking elsewhere.
There is a perception that Indian players, who are unable to compete in international leagues like the Big Bash League or the Hundred, are at a disadvantage against players from other nations, who have access to a wider variety of playing environments. After India’s ten-wicket loss to England in the most recent T20 World Cup semifinal, the debate gained steam.
When asked about this after the game, Dravid acknowledged that certain England players may have had an advantage due to their BBL experience in gauging the semi-venue, final’s Adelaide, better. The majority of these T20 competitions, he added, take place during India’s domestic season, making it challenging for Indian players to play in foreign leagues. Additionally, given how well-liked Indian athletes are worldwide, their involvement can be detrimental to local cricket.
Zaheer, a longtime member of the Mumbai Indians coaching staff who was recently promoted to the position of global head of cricket development by the organization, said India had adequate resources to generate players who could perform well in every situation and at any level.
In an interview conducted by Prime Video ahead of India’s first T20I match against New Zealand in Wellington on Friday, Zaheer said: “I feel there are a lot of processes in place. It’s not about playing only franchise cricket, it’s about going to different countries to learn things. That is something which is important, and you’ve seen with BCCI, with their shadow tours, I think those processes are well in place.
I can’t think of any other motivation for players to travel to a certain event right now. What you now have domestically is also a solid structure. So why rely on other people? We have more than enough resources to create talented athletes. Additionally, if you take a look at our bench strength, you can essentially use three different lineups and they will all be competitive at any level.
Since there have been more India A trips in recent years, Shastri felt that the players had already received enough exposure through domestic cricket, the IPL, and these tours.
There is enough domestic cricket to give all these guys a chance to integrate within the system “Says Shastri. “Additionally, there are other additional tours, including India A tours, when two Indian teams may be competing at once. When this happens, the other team will have the chance to travel somewhere while India is abroad to compete and demonstrate their skills.
Therefore, there is no need for them to participate in other tournaments; they are quite content to play in the IPL and concentrate on home cricket. They must also play domestic cricket in India for us.
