Will KS Bharat Play For UAE After Retiring From International Cricket?

Wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat announced his international retirement on June 4, Thursday. His retirement came as a surprise given that he is only 32 years old now. However, it is believed that Bharat might be looking for more cricket opportunities, mostly outside India, which prompted him to take this decision.

One of those opportunities could be playing international cricket for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Recently, a no. of former Indian domestic players like Harpreet Singh Bhatia and Akshdeep Nath made their UAE debuts after retiring from Indian cricket. It has raised questions about KS Bharat UAE eligibility now.

Will KS Bharat Play For UAE After Retirement?

KS Bharat is not yet eligible to play for the UAE if they go by the route which was followed by Harpreet Singh Bhatia and Akshdeep Nath. Bharat will be eligible to play in 2027 if he goes by this process.

According to the ICC Eligibility rules to switch national teams, a player must take the country's nationality or residency criteria first. He/she has to undergo a three-year cooling-off period from the last international match date from the previous country.

KS Bharat, one of the best wicketkeepers in India, played his last international, which was a Test match, during February 2024, against England at Visakhapatnam. Hence, he will only be eligible to play for the UAE in 2027.

However, the wicketkeeper can play in some of the richest cricket leagues in the world like ILT20, SA20, and The Hundred, which will give him a good pay. Since the 32-year-old cricketer was already out of contention for India's national team, he decided to look into his future.

BCCI New Rule On Retired Players

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently discussing a new policy to stop the Indian players from retiring early to play overseas leagues. Recently, players like Vijay Shankar and KS Bharat announced premature retirements to appear in the other leagues across the world.

The proposed rules include a five-year cooling-off period for players who announce their retirement and aim to return to Indian cricket. This rule is yet to be finalised and a decision is likely to be taken soon by the board officials.