England opener Alex Hales took a dig at Indian cricket and said that it was shameful for Indian players not being able to play in foreign leagues.
The discussion has gained quite some light after England decimated India in the T20 World Cup semi-final at Adelaide on Thursday. Alex Hales led England’s run chase against India scoring a brilliant 86 from 47 deliveries as the Three Lions won by 10 wickets.
Hales said that he knew the dimensions of the Adelaide Oval quite well as he has played a lot of cricket there in the Big Bash league.
“It’s a shame that Indian guys don’t get a chance to play in different leagues,” he said. “It would be good for everyone, benefit them, and benefit the leagues to have the best players in the world playing.
“[Adelaide] is a ground where I’ve played a lot of cricket in the past and enjoyed some success. To have that sort of mindset before you head out there on a big occasion probably settles the nerves a bit and gives you confidence that you can put on a performance like that.
Hales went on to add that playing in foreign conditions only makes you a better player and Indians should get a chance for it.
“Anytime you get the chance to play in foreign conditions makes you a better cricketer and makes you understand those conditions. Hopefully going forward, they get a chance to play in different leagues. It’s definitely helped me, for sure.”
Earlier, Rahul Dravid had said that the Big Bash League conflicts with the time period for the Indian domestic season and allowing Indian players to play in the BBL would finish domestic cricket.
“I mean, sure, there’s no doubt about it, the fact that England… a lot of their players have come here and played in this tournament,” Dravid said, “and it certainly showed. It’s tough. I think it’s very difficult for Indian cricket because a lot of these tournaments happen right at the peak of our season.”
“I think it’s a huge challenge for us. Yes, I think a lot of our boys maybe do miss out on the opportunities of playing in a lot of these leagues, but if you were to… it’s really up to the BCCI to make that decision, but the thing is it’s right in the middle of our season, and with the kind of demand there would be for Indian players, if you allowed all the Indian players to play in these leagues, we would not have a domestic cricket. Our domestic cricket, our Ranji Trophy, would be finished, and that would mean Test cricket would be finished.”
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