Former ‘big’ Aussie player with 67 Tests banned for playing in an Indian league in Goa

Because the tournament in Goa is not approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Updated on: Apr 22, 2026, 07:11:22 IST

Written by Prateek Srivastava

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If reports are to be believed, Australian pacer Peter Siddle won’t be available for the T20 Blast, which is going to kick off next month, not because of some “personal reasons” as reported earlier. It is because he has been banned by the T20 league.

Peter Siddle is currently playing in Pakistan. (AFP)

Believe it or not, he has been banned because he has featured in an Indian league that’s not approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The World Legends Pro League, earlier this year, was held in India’s biggest holiday destination, Goa, and Siddle featured in it.

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As per the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) charter, players playing in unauthorised tournaments can’t play in England for six months, which basically means the Aussie quick, presently plying his trade for Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), can’t be seen in action in the T20 Blast where he was set to represent Notts Outlaws.

Nottinghamshire had earlier given a totally different picture in this matter. According to them, the 41-year-old pacer wouldn’t play because of personal reasons. “We’re naturally disappointed that Peter won’t be able to join us this summer, as we were looking forward to having a player of his calibre and experience as part of our T20 squad,” Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell said in a statement.

“We’ll now focus our efforts on securing the services of a replacement for this summer’s competition,” he added.

But later, some big media outlets like Daily Mail and ESPNcricinfo reported the true reasons were totally different.

Peter Siddle has been impressive in the PSL!

Anyway, Siddle has been doing very well in the ongoing PSL. And he has been bowling really quick. For his age, it’s nothing short of extraordinary. The Pakistani media has praised him no end for bowling well as well as bowling quicker than many of their premium fast bowlers. Besides, he has been helping younger fast bowlers in the side to improve.

Siddle played 67 Tests, 20 ODIs and 2 T20Is for Australia from 2008 to 2019. After his retirement in 2019, he has continued to play domestic as well as franchise cricket. He has a big body of work, as one can see, and that makes him quite useful, not just as a player but also someone who can help youngsters grow.

Siddle is not the only player to be banned. Former England spinner Samit Patel, who featured in 6 Tests, 36 ODIs and 18 T20Is, has also been banned for the same reason.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Prateek Srivastava
Prateek Srivastava is a senior sports journalist having been in the profession for two decades now. He started his print career with the India Today Group and later also worked for the Asian Age. In 2009, sensing the wind of change, he switched to the digital media and joined Mobile ESPN. There, he covered the 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2010 Hockey World Cup as a venue reporter. He did plenty of voice-over work too, over there. After leaving Mobile ESPN, Prateek went on to work for Cricketnext, Gocricket and Cricbuzz. At Gocricket (Times Internet Limited), he covered the 2014 T20 World from Bangladesh. There he also received a team leadership award, given at the end of the month. Prateek has also covered the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, this time working for Sportz Interactive. He also worked for Chinese giants Alibaba over two years and led their ""Short News"" content team at UC Browser. While cricket is Prateek’s expertise, he has also done a lot of golf. In fact, he has covered India’s first two European Tour events back in the late noughties. He has also done extensive writing on football having been associated with the Indian Super League for three seasons. Finally, Prateek is a literature aficionado and swears by Philip Roth and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and when he doesn’t joke, he is usually quiet and at work.Read More

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