"Our cricket board has to decide what is important for us" - Aakash Chopra on players being rested for India games but playing IPL

Aakash Chopra believes the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) treating the Indian Premier League (IPL) at par with international cricket is the reason behind all players being available for the franchise-based tournament while taking a few breaks from the national side.

The club versus country debate has been raging for ages in sports like football. With mushrooming leagues across the world, cricket has also become a part of the debate, with players preferring such tournaments ahead of national duty.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked about his thoughts on India's players getting rested for the national team but being available for the IPL, to which he responded:

"The overarching theme in this is that ultimately our cricket board has to decide what is important for us. The Indian cricket board has decided that the IPL is absolutely on par with international cricket for us."

The former Indian opener agrees with the BCCI's stance, explaining:

"There is nothing wrong in that because this is your tournament only. You play international cricket also as a team and domestic cricket (IPL) is your tournament. If this tournament is standing on par with NFL or EPL, it is necessary to justify that standard."

Chopra pointed out that players are therefore given a break from their hectic schedules in international cricket, elaborating:

"It is absolutely mandatory that all your players are available at that time. For that, it is possible that if you see a slightly lighter series or if you are playing a lot of series back-to-back, you say that you will rotate slightly."

It would certainly not be fair to the franchises if their main players are not available for the entire duration of the tournament. However, India's main squad also needs to play consistently together, especially in the format where a global event is around the corner.

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"Your IPL currency will only work if all your players are available" - Aakash Chopra

The IPL is the most prestigious T20 league in the world. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Chopra added that all Indian players should be available for the IPL to retain its premier status. He observed:

"You can play a player in one series and rest him in another but your IPL currency will only work if all your players are available. Fundamentally some people might not agree with that, they might say it is wrong, that international cricket is the top-most."

Chopra concluded by saying that the BCCI tries its best to ensure that the best 15 players play multi-nation tournaments. He added that they are forced to chop and change slightly in bilateral series due to the frequency of international cricket.