Legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis hopes Dinesh Karthik's upcoming debut in the SA20 will lead to more retired Indian players joining the league. Karthik, who will play for the Paarl Royals in the 2025 SA20, becomes the first Indian cricketer to play in the competition. He became eligible to play in the tournament after announcing his retirement from Indian cricket earlier this year. Karthik joined the Royals as a replacement for Jos Buttler, who withdrew before the season.
“It's great to have quality players, especially from India. Hopefully this is the start of many Indians coming in,” SA20 Ambassador said in a virtual interaction.
As per the current BCCI policy, Indian players are allowed to participate in overseas competitions only after withdrawing from all formats of the game, including the IPL.
“It would be nice to have them for sure, but the obvious reasons are that the BCCI will have to look after their own players, so there has to be a good balance,” the 49-year-old said.
“We are lucky with the way SA20 has taken off. The support of major franchises involved in the IPL certainly makes a big difference in delivering the product we have today.
“The IPL will always be number one. The product, the quality of the players, the audience engagement – it's on another level and ahead of everything else at the moment. We aim to be as close as possible the IPL and an exciting product for fans.” Kallis also highlighted the importance of all-rounders in T20 cricket.
“All-rounders add extra joy when they perform well. It is foolish not to develop skills in both batting and bowling. T20 is such an exciting format and all-rounders play a crucial role in it,” he said.
I wouldn't like to see Impact Player reign in SA20
Kallis further reflected on the controversial Impact Player rule and said it hinders the growth of an all-rounder.
“No, I don't like the impact players rule because I think it takes away the all-rounder. We are trying to produce all-rounders in South Africa, and this rule diminishes that role. So no, I would.” I don't like to see it in SA20.” The former South African captain also backed the idea of reviving the Champions League T20, which previously brought together franchise teams from around the world.
“It would be a fantastic idea. Fans would love to see so many leagues and top players competing in one tournament,” he added.
Kallis also spoke about franchise cricket's busy schedule in the calendar year and said it is one of the “key challenges” facing the game.
“With so many competitions being played, it's inevitable that clashes will happen. It's difficult, but if you deliver a good product that attracts viewers and the best players, you can still thrive.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
