'Stand With BCCI, Active Indian Cricketers Shouldn't Be Allowed In Foreign Leagues': Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik supports BCCI's decision to restrict active Indian cricketers from overseas leagues to maintain IPL's status as 'crown jewel' of world cricket.
Dinesh Karthik, the ambassador of SA20, stands with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in their decision to now allow active Indian cricketers to participate in overseas leagues. Karthik, who retired from Indian cricket last year, said the Indian Premier League (IPL) was world cricket’s ‘crown jewel’ and the BCCI’s embargo is important to maintaining that status, which even leagues like SA20 will accept.
The wicketkeeper-batter was responding to News18 CricketNext‘s query in a select media interaction on Sunday. Earlier, in an interview with this website, SA20 director Graeme Smith had said that the league’s goal was to improve every year and become the best league outside India — a process that can be accelerated if more popular Indian cricketers like Karthik start getting involved.
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“I am a big believer that the IPL should be the crown jewel for the BCCI and it is, at the moment, in world cricket," Karthik said. “And for it to maintain its status quo as number one, I believe that Indian cricketers shouldn’t be allowed unless they are retired. They can take the call if they feel they are done with the IPL and move on to play in other leagues. I completely stand with BCCI on that front."
“I agree you can always argue saying can youngsters be given more opportunities but I think there’s enough and more in India in terms of competition and in ways of being financially secure. And if you are good enough, IPL is a great platform. There’s domestic cricket and the other franchise leagues that are happening in India right now, as we speak… Cricketers from India should be allowed to play once they retire. I think that’s the right way to go. I believe the SA20, or any other league for that matter, will be more than happy to work with and have a couple of other players, who have retired from the BCCI and from playing for India," he added.
Karthik became the first Indian player to feature in South Africa’s premier T20 competition when he played for the Paarl Royals in the 2025 season. The former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter batted eight times in 11 matches, scoring 130 runs at a strike-rate of 121.49. Apart from that, he attended multiple press events as the ambassador, while also commentating in some games.
‘Quality of domestic cricket’ behind SA20’s success: Dinesh Karthik
SA20 once again earned plaudits for its engagement of the local audience, high level of competition and global appeal, even in India. News18 CricketNext asked Karthik what was the league doing differently that is standing it out among similar competitions, which are constantly fighting stagnation.
“There’s always an inherent rivalry from domestic cricket in South Africa," Karthik explained. “As you can see, there are a lot of those rivalries. Add to the fact that Indian corporates have taken over the franchises and all of them were participating in SA20 already have their rivalries and challenges in the IPL so it kind of carries over in that tournament. As you all know, IPL as well is watched all around the world and South Africa is no exception. So those rivalries have really helped,"
“The quality of domestic cricketers that have come through — for example, MI Cape Town played with just two foreigners, nine were locals, which tells you the strength of the squad in terms of domestic players and how much they trust them. And that’s always a very healthy sign. A lot of the other leagues have a lot more foreign players than domestic ones. That’s where I think SA20 stands out and that’s why the quality of cricket played over the month was consistent and it was always top-notch," he added.
Karthik also told this website some players he’d be keeping a key eye on for the future of South Africa, the SA20 and also, perhaps, the IPL.
“I think George Linde had a very good tournament," he said. “Dewald Brevis, we’ve seen him in IPL, but again, he’s come very good this season. You also have Bjorn Fortuin as part of our team, he had a very good season as well. When you look at other teams, Corbin Bosch, yeah, I think he is someone who is bowling sharp, can bat a bit. I thought Kyle Verryne played nicely for Victoria. So there’s a lot of talent. Matthew Breetzke — he didn’t have the best tournament, but I think he’s very skilled. We saw him in the recent series, the recent tri-series. He’s batted very well for South Africa, so some nice talent coming through."
Karthik concluded by saying that he had a ‘terrific’ experience at the SA20 and would love to be back next year.
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