Anil Kumble puts his weight behind allowing Indian players to play in overseas T20 leagues

Ever since India’s defeat at the hands of England in the semi-finals, the critics have been relentless in their dissection of another elimination for the Men in Blue ahead of the T20 World Cup final. One of the major reasons for the heavy flak is not just the loss to England but India’s incessant exits from the knock-out stages of world tournaments.

With the New Zealand tour on the horizon, the Men in Blue will be witnessing a few changes to the side and many believe that it can very well be the beginning of a new T20 era for the Indian cricket team. Former Indian captain and leg-spinner, Anil Kumble believes that in order to groom the upcoming generation of cricketers who are going to ply their trade for India in the shortest format of the game must be given exposure to foreign T20 Leagues.

Rahul Dravid batted vehemently against Indian players being a part of the foreign franchise tournaments, expressing his opinion about how this move can jeopardise India’s future in the longest format of the game. However, Anil Kumble had a completely different take.

Talking on ESPNCricinfo, Kumble said, “I think exposure certainly helps. It certainly helps any cricketer. We have seen that with the kind of development that it has had on Indian cricket. For example, the IPL, where overseas players come in and the kind of changes we've had in Indian cricket has certainly helped. And likewise, if you identify the brand of cricket that we are looking at and then identify these key young players who you believe need those exposures, then why not? I think that's important.”

He further added, “The other thing that I also feel that needs to come into this team is the flexible approach to batting or the batting order. Because in T20s, I certainly believe there is no fixed batting order. You have to be flexible in the way you are going to go about using your resources. And yeah, in terms of giving an opportunity to a young player to go overseas and have a crack, then why not? I think it's important that you need to have everything that you need to do that come 2024, you are well prepared to take on a World Cup event.”

With all said and done, he concluded on a promising note, stating, “I think it will only benefit the younger players if they get more opportunities. And I think one thing that certainly needs to be addressed is batters coming on to bowl. Otherwise, you'll end up having this conundrum whether to go with five bowlers, six bowlers. I think if you have enough ability in the top 6 to give you two options, then I think it certainly opens up… you can pick and choose who you want at No. 7.”