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South African legend AB de Villiers expressed his interest in Indian players’ participation in the SA20 in the near future. The former batter said that he hopes that the Indian cricket board, Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) allows players from India to participate in the league. According to De Villiers, their participation will only raise the profile of the young franchise-based league. Notably, former Indian batter Dinesh Karthik is set to become the first Indian cricketer to participate in the SA20.
Karthik announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket last year, following the completion of the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League. The BCCI doesn’t allow active players to participate in the overseas leagues, and if someone wants to play events outside India, it is by quitting their career at home. There are several Indian players, who have called it quits on their domestic and international career in India to try their luck in the emerging series in other nations.
I would love to see more Indian players involved: AB de Villiers on SA20
The former South Africa batter expressed his wish to see Indian players in the SA20 and said, “I would love to see more Indian players involved. We know Dinesh Karthik will be here this year which is fantastic and it’s great for the tournament.” Mr 360, as he is fondly called, was in a media interaction ahead of the third edition of SA20, set to begin on January 9. He added, “And hopefully the BCCI will allow us to get more Indian players in the future to come and join the fun of the SA20.”
De Villiers gave an example of how IPL attracted the best overseas players over the last few years. He said, “We (SA20) can just keep growing with regards to the overseas players. That’s a large part of the success of the IPL over the years and I’ve followed the IPL since 2008. It’s every year the overseas contingents seem to get stronger and stronger.” He continued, “You get the best players in the world and the best players in India and that combination makes for great cricket. So I think for Graeme Smith and his team moving forward it’s just to keep pushing hard, as hard as they can (to get the best overseas talent).”
