Eight players of the India U19 World Cup-winning squad are likely to miss out on the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction as they don’t meet the criteria set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). In the last two years, domestic cricket in India have been affected in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only the ones, who has played either one first-class or one List A games are eligible to take part in the auction, scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. In case they don’t have the required experience, they have been above the age of 19 to meet the eligibility criteria.
Quite a few India players are affected by BCCI criteria
Shaikh Rasheed, the India U19 vice-captain, all-rounders Siddarth Yadav and Nishant Sindhu, wicketkeeper Dinesh Bana, opening batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manav Parakh and Garv Sangwan and left-arm fast bowler Ravi Kumar are likely to be affected by the rule.
Sindhu even captained India when Yash Dhull stayed in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19. Ravi Kumar picked up three wickets in the final and broke the backbone of the Indian batting unit. Dinesh Bana, on the other hand, played quite a few cameos at the death.
In the meantime, veteran BCCI administrator Ratnakar Shetty has urged the board to make an exception, keeping in mind the happenings during the pandemic.
“It’s unfortunate that these boys weren’t able to play List A tournaments as U-19 and List A games were played simultaneously. One season, there was no cricket at all due to the pandemic. I feel the BCCI should consider this as a special case and the players should not lose out because of this (stipulation),” Shetty said.
As many as 590 cricketers are set to go under the hammer in the IPL 2022 mega auction, to be held for two days. 228 capped players, seven from Associate countries and 355 uncapped players have thrown their hats in the ring.
The Ranji Trophy is set to get underway on February 17 after initially being postponed. Even if the eight U19 cricketers take part in the tournament, they won’t meet the eligibility criteria for the IPL mega auction.
