New Delhi, 08 June 2026: BCCI’s new rule The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may soon make a major change in its retirement policy. BCCI is preparing to take strict action against those players who start playing in foreign leagues immediately after retirement. According to current rules, active Indian cricketers are not allowed to play in foreign leagues, but they can play after retirement.
BCCI is thinking of bringing this policy because players are taking retirement to play in foreign leagues. The issue has been particularly highlighted by Vijay Shankar, who joined the Kandy Royals team in the Sri Lanka Premier League a week after his retirement.
The new proposed retirement policy states that a cooling-off period will be applicable on players after retirement. This means that if a player plays in a foreign league after retirement, he will not be able to play cricket at any level in India for five years.
Simply put, if an Indian player retires today, he will not be able to participate in any foreign league for the next five years. If he does this, he will not be able to play cricket at any level in India for the next five years.
Vijay Shankar is not the only player who has played in other leagues after retirement. Many legendary cricketers including Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh have played in the World Championship of Legends and Legends League Cricket. He may not be affected by this retirement policy, as he does not play cricket at any other level.
