“Uncomfortable and unfair,” ex-India batter is against BCCI’s “cooling-off” period for retired cricketers

Though the decision surrounding the same has not been made yet, former India batter Robin Uthappa feels implementing a cooling-off period of one year is unfair.

“Uncomfortable and unfair,” ex-India batter is against BCCI’s “cooling-off” period for retired cricketers

Jay Shah, Roger Binny (Image via Getty)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been contemplating a cooling-off period that will stop Indian cricketers from playing overseas leagues right after retirement. Though the decision surrounding the same has not been made yet, former India batter Robin Uthappa feels implementing a cooling-off period of one year is unfair.

Uthappa hung his boots from international and the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year. After retirement, he played in a T10 league in Zimbabwe and the ILT20 in the UAE. He feels not having a central contract with the BCCI and not playing cricket in India and being prevented from playing overseas leagues can make a retired player uncomfortable.

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“I think it is human nature to feel uncomfortable about it. We do not have any central contract with the BCCI, we are not playing cricket in India anymore so it certainly does make you feel a little uncomfortable and unfair for sure,” Uthappa said when PTI questioned him during an interaction organized by JioCinema. He is hopeful that as the BCCI has taken care of them all, it will surely take a decision in the interest of itself and the players.

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Robin Uthappa gives his verdict on India’s current problems

"Uncomfortable and unfair," ex-India batter is against BCCI's "cooling-off" period post retirement
Robin Uthappa (Image via Twitter)

Robin Uthappa feels it’s up to the management and leaders to decide on team composition. Due to the availability of high-quality players, Uthappa feels it creates a headache for the management to form a playing XI. He said the management needs to figure out whether to choose a team of young players, senior players, or a combination of both.

Uthappa has played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India, scoring 934 and 249 runs respectively. His last match for India was against Zimbabwe in 2015. The 35-year-old continued playing in the IPL and last played his match in 2022 for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He has 205 IPL caps to his name and scored 4952 runs at an average of 27.51 and a strike rate of 130.35.

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