|| CF Correspondent ||

Former Indian batsman Suresh Raina urged to the Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] to lift its ban on players participating in overseas Twenty20 leagues, including the Australian franchise T20 league Big Bash.

“I hope the BCCI can get together with the ICC (International Cricket Council) or with franchises and allow players who don’t have BCCI contracts to play in overseas leagues,” Raina said during an Instagram session with his former India team-mate Irfan Pathan.

“I feel there are a lot of players, including Yusuf (Pathan), myself, Robin Uthappa - a lot of quality players who can go overseas and learn a lot, no matter which league it is. We aren’t in the BCCI contracts list, some of us don’t have IPL contracts, we aren’t playing international cricket, and the competition in domestic cricket isn’t what it is at the international level.

“If we can get three months of quality cricket, whether it’s the CPL (Caribbean Premier League) or the Big Bash (League) or any league, it can help us stay ready. Players from other countries are able to play in these leagues, and a lot of them have made international comebacks after doing well in them," he added.

The BCCI restricts the active players to sign for overseas franchise-based leagues in a bid to protect the prestige of its own franchise-based lucrative event Indian Premier League (IPL), which attracts the world’s top cricketers.