Yusuf Pathan
Yusuf Pathan in IPLIANS

After bagging an opportunity to be part of a litmus test ahead of the IPL 2017, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) recent mood swing has robbed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, a potential chance to feature in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz cricket competition.

READ: List of players going under the hammer in IPL 2017 auction.

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Although an official statement has not come from the Indian cricket board, several media reports doing the rounds on Wednesday morning claimed that the BCCI is keen on protecting the brand image of the Indian cricketers and their decision is also based on sponsorship reasons.

"Indian players have a brand name. Indian players playing in league will attract Indian viewers," The Indian Express quoted an unnamed BCCI official as saying. "It would also mean that our sponsors too want to invest in other leagues. That is why we will be not allowing any Indian players to be part of any leagues," the source added.

Pathan, 34, who has been playing at the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned KKR since 2011, became the first Indian MALE cricketer to play a foreign T20 league. This happened just days back!

India women's cricket team hotshot Harmanpreet Kaur, meanwhile, is the first EVER cricketer to play in an overseas T20 league after she featured for Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) side Sydney Thunder, last year.

Pathan got a chance to play for Hong Kong T20 Blitz team Kowloon Cantons and was also unveiled as a player of the side, alongside Pakistan veteran Shahid Afridi. 

"I firstly want to thank the BCCI and BCA for giving me the no-objection certificate (NOC) [to play in Hong Kong]," Pathan had mentioned. "I am really excited about this venture and I think it will be good preparation for the IPL [2017]. That is why I signed for it."

Some years back, Dinesh Karthik, Indian wicket-keeper, got an opportunity to play in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), but his application was cancelled by the BCCI.