IND vs WI: Robin Uthappa Urges BCCI To Allow Indian Players To Play In Overseas Leagues After Loss To West Indies

At a time when Indian fans are venting their frustration over the Indian Premier League due to Team India’s dismal displays in white-ball format especially in ICC tournaments, former batsman Robin Uthappa has advocated for playing in overseas T20 leagues too.

After suffering a 4-run loss in the first T20I against West Indies, India, on Sunday (August 7), lost the second T20I too. While the Men in Blue could not chase down 149 in the series-opener, they failed to defend 152 runs in the second T20I despite having West Indies reeling at 129 for 8 after 16 overs.

The latest loss has further highlighted India’s poor display in white-ball cricket in recent times. In March this year, India lost the home ODI series against Australia and were far from being impressive during the ODI series against West Indies. They are now on the verge of losing the T20I series and need to win all the remaining three games to clinch the series.

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Robin Uthappa’s suggestion for Team India:

Following India’s dismal outing in the second T20I, Robin Uthappa said that the lack of exposure outside of the Indian Premier League is hurting the players in overseas conditions. The BCCI does not allow active Indian players to participate in any overseas T20 league.

One of the main reasons behind the decision is to protect the IPL brand. Robin Uthappa believes that while the decision is beneficial for the IPL brand, it does hurt the team, especially in ICC tournaments. The former batsman stated that overseas players have a lot of information about the Indian players because of the IPL. It was very much evident during the second T20I when Nicholas Pooran smashed his IPL teammate Ravi Bishnoi for 18 runs in an over.

“Well, yeah, I certainly think the exposure at the IPL and I think it is a trick that India misses out, especially in the ICC tournaments, because we don’t play any other leagues in any other part of the world,” Robin Uthappa said.

“And I think yes, it does well to protect the IPL as an entity, but I think it costs us at the ICC level. And I think those are the advantages that the accomplished players have against our Indian bowlers when they play them in bilateral or they play against them in ICC tournament.

“They have had so much exposure against them in the nets and playing against them in the IPL for years 3,4,5,6 years. So you already know what the bowler does, you already know what the batter does. So you have a lot of information,” Robin Uthappa further added.

The third T20I of the five-match series is scheduled to be played on August 8 in Guyana. India will have to win the game at any cost to keep the series alive.