Irfan Pathan Ill-Advised Before He Enrolled In CPL Players' Draft

Veteran allrounder Irfan Pathan’s hopes of becoming the first Indian male cricketer to play in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) or any overseas league has all but ended. No Indian cricketer has ever played in any big overseas T20 League. The BCCI has maintained a tough stance on the matter and has not allowed the players to take part in the likes of CPL, Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League or any other prominent T20 tournament.

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However, Irfan was now looking set to bring an end to that trend when he enrolled his name in the players’ draft. The news did spring a huge surprise but many speculated that Irfan was allowed to play the league since he is not an active member of the national team right now. Although, the rule from BCCI states that any India cricketer who has not announced formal retirement from all forms of the game — domestic and international — cannot participate in any overseas T20 league that competes in the same space as the IPL.

The Times of India has now reported that Irfan was ‘ill-advised’ on the whole matter. The report claimed that the allrounder had sought the opinion of a senior BCCI official before forwarding his name for the CPL draft. He was advised that ‘should he get picked in the process, he’ll be given the opportunity for a back-dated (retirement) announcement’. As such, Irfan’s step was not at all in accordance with the existing rules of the BCCI.

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“The CoA (Committee of Administrators) clearly has no idea of what is happening. It’s a pity how they’re functioning. In return, the only thing happening is that cricketers — former and present — are being harmed in terms of their careers,” a BCCI source told the news outlet.

“Who advised Pathan to forward his name for the CPL draft? Only Vinod Rai or Diana Edulji can answer,” added the source

Irfan has so far represented India in 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is, picking up a total of 301 wickets. He has also scored over 2,800 international runs for India. However, Irfan is now very much unlikely to play for India again. Irfan, nonetheless, has ample experience of playing T20 cricket, He has played for a number of IPL franchises such as Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) Chennai Super Kings as well as now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions.