U-19 players out of bounds

The BCCI has stepped in to prevent the IPL franchises from signing India Under-19 players who are currently in Kuala Lumpur for the World Cup. Good move, say many franchise representatives, because it will help the junior cricketers focus on what they went there for. But what next, they ask.

“Will it be a free-for-all after the last ball of the U-19 World Cup is bowled?” asks a representative who had signed up two India U-19 players before the BCCI moved in to declare those contracts "null and void". "All we want," says the representative, "is clarity on the situation. We want the IPL organisers to come out with a clear-cut policy on recruiting U-19 cricketers. Otherwise, it will be chaos as usual.”