5 reasons why BCCI should send a full strength Indian squad to the ICC Champions Trophy

The country is witnessing the ongoing Indian Premier League which is making news for all the right reasons this year. Although the fans are busy in calculating which teams would occupy the top 4 spots on the points table yet they are keeping a keen eye on all the chaos that is going on around BCCI and the participation of the Indian team in the ICC Champions Trophy that is scheduled to start in the first week of June. There have been speculations that the full strength squad won’t be sent for the tournament.

BCCI has been keen on pulling out of the tournament after ICC rejected its plea to reconsider the financial decision and roll back to the Big Three model which earlier gave the Indian board a major part of the revenue. There were reports that the Board had hired a UK-based law firm to send a legal notice to ICC. The last date to announce the 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy was April 25th which is long gone now. To show dissent to ICC, BCCI was planning to send a second-string squad to the prestigious by not naming the big stars in that side.

Even though the Board has a point yet sending a weaker side is not the best way to handle the situation. Here are 5 reasons why a full strength Indian squad should be sent to the Champions Trophy.

#1 Defending Champions

India had become the champions of the tournament the last time it was played in the year 2013. The way India had triumphed there showed the world of its dominance. They won against every single opposition and remained unbeaten. Those weren’t just simple victories but had literally outclassed oppositions South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England. By no means, those were easy oppositions and all that became possible due to the hard work of the youngsters like Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja who had topped the batting and bowling charts respectively. The current Indian team is also having a winning momentum and given the hosts of the tournament are same, they deserve a chance to fight for their title.

#2 Second string squad doesn’t make much sense

There have been speculations that BCCI will send a squad that won’t contain the top players from the country. But it doesn’t make too much sense as it’s a move that almost guarantees an early omission from the tournament. Although there are a lot of talented cricketers in India, who are knocking on the doors of Indian cricket, yet to play at the biggest level and against the best teams in the world, that too in alien English conditions is not an easy job. Additionally, if BCCI wants to make a point against ICC, it’s better to pull out of the tournament altogether rather than sending a second-string squad.

#3 Absence of big stars will hamper the popularity of the tournament

There is absolutely no doubt about which side is the most popular in the cricketing world. India attracts the crowd. It doesn’t matter which country they are playing in, whether Australia, England or South Africa, there will a huge amount of contingent that follows the Indian team. No ICC event is complete without the big stars of India. The likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli are the biggest crowd pullers in the world. The past few major events of ICC have been a big hit and it was mostly because of the performances that Indian team pulled off. They won the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy, made it to the final of 2014 World T20 and reached the semi-finals of 2015 World Cup and 2016 World T20. All those tournaments were highly popular all over the world.

#4 Indian fans don’t deserve a weaker side

The game of cricket is the most popular sport in India and the reason it became so big is the fans of the country. It’s not just a game for them but nothing short of a religion. Cricket unites people in the nation and brings out the passion in the countrymen. There are millions of fans who have been waiting for the Champions Trophy for so long and certainly, they won’t want to see a weaker side take on the field rather than the full strength one. BCCI became big not because of the players but because of the love that the fans gave to the sport. IPL became a major success, all due to the fan following. We all are admirers of competitive cricket and it is definitely not going to happen if the star players are made to watch the games on their TV sets from India. Such passionate fans surely deserve to see a squad that is a contender to lift the trophy again.

#5 Last Champions Trophy

ICC had given hints earlier that the 2017 edition of the tournament could be the last one for that format. There have been arguments from so many cricketing experts like Ravi Shastri that the concept of Champions Trophy should be scrapped as the World Cup is already a prominent event for the 50-over format and having another one doesn’t make much sense. There are possibilities that this could be the last one and India being the defending champions would love to keep happy memories of it the future. If they do manage to defend the title, it will be an iconic page in the history of Indian cricket. If they win, they would be the first side to win the trophy three times, a record that will last forever.