Mark Chapman has been given his first central contract by New Zealand Cricket
Uthappa took retirement from international cricket earlier this september and he is set to focus on only T20 leagues. Uthappa, 37, is one of the first well-known Indian players to leave Indian cricket in order to play in foreign T20 competitions.
He was signed directly by Capitals, one of the six clubs in ILT20. Uthappa said that despite being a participant in both the IPL and domestic Indian cricket, BCCI regulations prevented him from participating in international T20 tournaments.
Uthappa will be able to fulfil this dream right away thanks to his retirement from international and Indian cricket. Now, he hopes to play in leagues like The Hundred, the Caribbean Premier League, and the Big Bash League in the upcoming years of his career.
Robin Uthappa, whose international career spanned from 2006 to 2015 and included 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is, also participated in 205 IPL games during a 15-season span for six different franchises.
When he was part of Chennai Super Kings, he experienced a late resurgence, contributing significantly to their march to the 2021 championship. However, his form declined after hitting two fifties in his first five innings of the 2022 season, as he only reached double figures twice in the remainder of the IPL 2022 matches.
Another player who will join Dubai Capitals is Yusuf Pathan. The 40 years old represented India in 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is between 2008 and 2012. He played a significant role in the Rajasthan Royals team’s historic victory in the first IPL, performing in the finisher’s position.
Pathan, a solid hitter of the ball, still holds the record for the quickest IPL century by an Indian, scoring it in just 37 balls, and was named Man of the Match in the 2008 final. With Kolkata Knight Riders, Yusuf won the IPL twice more in 2012 and 2014. He retired in 2021 with 4852 T20 runs and 99 T20 wickets.
According to BCCI rules, players in contract aren’t allowed to take part in foreign franchise leagues. It has been point of debate for a long time as Tom Moody and Anil Kumble have suggested that Indian players should be allowed to play in leagues outside India. This will allow them to encompass their skills and experience of different dynamics of the game.
Players have expressed a desire to play in other competitions; Suresh Raina, for example, urged in 2020 that the BCCI permit players without central contracts to explore their alternatives abroad, but the board has not taken such action.
Robin Uthappa said on his intentions to play in leagues outside India:
“It is something I wanted to do [play in overseas T20 leagues]. Now that I have retired it gives me the opportunity. I consider myself a student of the game. So I will only be enriching my own knowledge and experience and information about the game when I go and play in different conditions in the world. Tomorrow if I want to be a coach, I should have some kind of stand when I am having a conversation with the lads. I believe all these experiences will add value to that.