MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday sought the central government’s stand on whether young cricketers who are Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders should be allowed to participate in domestic tournaments organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The court observed that, since the central government’s stand is that OCI players cannot represent India, the distinction is important. It also rejected the petitioners’ argument that if foreign players are permitted to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL), then why not in other domestic tournaments. “That (IPL) is a different entity altogether. That is a commercial venture. The bench, however, clarified that it was not against young cricketers’ right to develop through sports. “We aren’t against the child’s rights to play and develop. We haven’t made up our mind yet. We just want to know the version of the State. Accordingly, the court directed that the central government be made a party in the petition and a notice be issued, returnable within three weeks.
The matter will now be heard on October 14. Therefore, it was necessary to take the central government’s stand on the matter, the bench said.
A division bench of chief justice Maheshchandra Tripathi and justice Advait Sethna said it was not against young OCI cardholders playing cricket in India and developing their careers, but allowing them to participate in tournaments organised by the BCCI, which governs Indian cricket, could have “wider implications”. “The sudden change in the eligibility criteria is arbitrary, without application of mind and, hence, violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” the petition said. Do not mix both the things; they (IPL players) aren’t representing the country,” the chief justice said. That’s it,” it said.
The petition argued that the resolution had modified the eligibility criteria under which PIO and OCI cardholders were earlier allowed to play in BCCI-organised tournaments.
“They are minor players. The BCCI has taken the decision on its own. If, as children, we aren’t allowed to play now, then what about our rights, our development? He argued that if the players are denied the opportunity to play in India at this age, it could affect their sporting development.
It said that this was a collective decision by board members who are experts in the field. Mane said.
During an earlier hearing, the BCCI had argued that it had already informed OCI cardholders that there would be no restrictions on their participation in tournaments if they obtained Indian citizenship. On Thursday, the petitioners’ lawyer, advocate Datta Mane, clarified that they are not seeking to represent India at the international level.
