BCCI presented its stand in Bombay High Court, OCI card holders will not get entry in domestic cricket.

BCCI informs Bombay High Court: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it clear in the Bombay High Court that Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders will not be allowed to play in domestic cricket tournaments organized by the board.

The matter came to light during the hearing of a petition filed by 12 young cricketers, who have challenged the BCCI’s decision of 2023, in which OCI and foreign passport holders of Indian origin were excluded from domestic cricket.

Decision taken keeping in mind national representation

Before the bench of Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad, BCCI said that only Indian citizens are selected in the Indian national team. For this reason, only Indian citizens are allowed to play in domestic cricket. The board told the court that these rules have been implemented keeping in mind the selection process and national representation of Indian cricket.

The level of cricket in India is very high – Court

During the hearing, the court told the petitioners that if they had citizenship of another country, they might have better opportunities to play cricket there. The court also said that the level and competition of cricket in India is very high. However, the court also added that if the players acquire Indian citizenship in future, they can return to India and play here.

Cardholders were allowed to participate

It was argued on behalf of the petitioners that they have been living in India for many years and their children are not getting equal opportunities in sports and other co-curricular activities. He said that keeping children of OCI card holders out of domestic cricket is discriminatory and unjust. He said that BCCI’s decision of 2023 is arbitrary, because before this OCI card holders were allowed to play in domestic tournaments.

Applications are still pending

To this, BCCI replied that the Board has already clarified that if an OCI card holder acquires Indian citizenship, there will be no restriction on his playing domestic cricket. The petitioners told the court that they have applied for Indian citizenship, but their applications are still pending.

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Next hearing will be on August 13

After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the Bombay High Court has fixed the next hearing of the case on August 13. Now all eyes are on this matter, because it may impact the domestic cricket career of young cricketers with OCI card holders living in India in future.