BCCI likely to allow Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni to play 100-ball tournament in England

In what can well become a historic event, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may allow top cricketers like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to take part in the 100-ball Cricket tournament to be held in England. This new format of the game has been proposed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and is expected to start in England from 2020.

Up until now, BCCI has not allowed its players to play in overseas T20 tournaments in order to protect their market-leading Indian Premier League (IPL). However, if reports are to be believed, the governing body is considering making an exception for “The Hundred”, considering it’s a brand-new format of the game and vastly different from Twenty20 Cricket.

BCCI contemplating on allowing Indian players to play “The Hundred”

As quoted by the dailymail.co.uk, the report says, “Having Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and other top Indians playing would be an immense boost for the Hundred in its inaugural year, especially when England’s Test players will not be involved. It would also be a helpful bargaining chip for future negotiations around an IPL franchise in London.” Prior to this, the BCCI had given the nod to women cricketers participating in the Kia Super League T20, starting in England this summer.

The move to introduce “The Hundred” was unprecedented on the part of the ECB, who chose to do away with T20 in order to bring a new level of excitement into the foray of the game. The initiative is supposed to appeal to the younger generation and provide a considerable boost to viewers attending the stadium owing to a shorter time-span of each match and more cricketing action, all wrapped in one.

This new format will have 100 balls per innings. The major difference will be in terms of the overs bowled, which will consist of 15 traditional six-ball overs and a single 10-ball over to complete each innings. Thus, each match will be rendered 40 balls shorter than a T20 and the action will be effectively cut to around two and a half hours. A women’s tournament following the same rules and regulations is also expected to be launched in near future.

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