The BCCI has made it clear, that it now mandatory for a player to have Indian passport to participate in tournaments hosted by the BCCI. Previously, the Board of Control for Cricket in India had special permissions for players of Indian origin or those Original country is India to take part in tournaments without holding an Indian passport.
However, that won’t be the case now. BCCI’s GM, Game Development Abey Kuruvilla has informed the state associations of the country that it is now mandatory for everyone to hold an Indian passport to participate in BCCI tournaments.
BCCI’s letter to State associations
“The Apex Council in its meeting held on December 18 2023, has resolved to amend the eligibility criteria with respect to players holding a passport of a different country than India. As you may (be) aware, earlier, players who did not hold a passport of India and were therefore not citizens of India, were permitted to participate in BCCI tournaments upon production of PIO/OCI card.
“However, the Apex Council has now resolved that players must hold an Indian passport to be eligible to participate in BCCI tournaments. Any player holding a passport of a different country shall not be eligible to participate in BCCI tournaments despite holding a PIO/ OCI card. You are therefore requested to note the above and inform all the concerned players regarding the same.”
Now this is a new move from the BCCI. Previously, the rules were much simpler. Any player Person of Indian Origin (PIO) or Original Country India (OCI) could participate in any BCCI tournament.
