Ever since franchise T20 leagues have become a global euphoria, one of the major talking points has been about the participation of active Indian cricketers in foreign leagues. As things stand, India's players only play the Indian Premier League and other domestic tournaments situated in their own country.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made a legal restriction wherein cricketers can only play foreign T20 leagues after they have completely retired from professional cricket. Quite a few prominent voices in cricket have been vocal about this rule, urging the BCCI to change their stance but to no avail.
On Wednesday (October 15), the President of Guyana Dr Irfaan Ali has gone on record to publicly request the BCCI to change their mindset in this regard. West Indies cricketers form a whopping majority of freelance T20 cricketers in the world with Guyana having their own share of superstars in the shortest format.
"India must urgently reconsider its approach," said Dr Irfaan Ali through his social media account on X.
"Control through exclusion and market dominance may yield short-term gains, but an open, level playing field is the only sustainable model for long-term growth. How India wields this period of dominance will define its place in cricketing history."
Dominance on the global stage comes with responsibilities that cannot be ignored. India has undeniably risen as the superpower of world cricket. It has done so not just in talent, but in technology, resources, infrastructure, finance, and administration. Simply put, India holds… pic.twitter.com/tutVP8WCfl
— President Dr Irfaan Ali (@presidentaligy) October 15, 2025
Like in any other T20 league across world, West Indies players are arguably the most popular foreign players in the IPL, both among their teammates and fans in the country. The relationship between West Indies and India goes back a long way. Ironically, it is against the Caribbean superstars that India won its first-ever World Cup trophy in 1983.
Dr Ali hopes that India can reciprocate the love that West Indies cricket gave them during the 1970s and 1980s, especially in the current scenario when the Windies are struggling for a foothold in the game, both in terms of competitive levels and finances.
"We in the West Indies once ruled the game, creating value wherever we played. Kapil Dev himself can attest to the inspiration he drew from our cricketing spirit in Guyana—a spirit that fueled India’s first World Cup triumph. He was quoted as saying, “I think it was wonderful. That’s where I would say India’s Cricket One Day journey started, where we beat West Indies. West Indies, during that time, was a team nobody could dream to come close to them, and we beat them in West Indies, right here in Guyana.”
West Indies have their own franchise T20 league, the Caribbean Premier League which has been a success over the years on television and in terms of ticketing revenue. Guyana has also hosted the Global Super League which was a small-scale version of Champions League T20, with the T20 league champions of CPL, BBL, BPL, ILT20 and Super Smash.
Speaking about the Super League's existence, Dr Ali knows that his ambitions of making the tournament a popular world class event has its limitations currently. Financially, Cricket West Indies need a lot more support and Dr Ali also urged the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to lend a helping hand.
"I have extended Guyana’s partnership in building a truly global Super League. Simply reviving the Champions League on its own, without meaningful partnership, is uninspiring and short-sighted. I call on the English Cricket Board, once familiar with the heights of dominance, to join this effort, for it understands better than anyone how swiftly fortune can turn and how essential it is to embrace a vision that strengthens the game for all."
