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Two leading cricket employers, Indian Railways and Chemplast, have expressed disappointment at being overlooked for BCCI's new corporate cricket championship, scheduled to be held in September to "create job opportunities that help cricketers to have a secure future".

The BCCI left the two teams out while sending out invitations for the inaugural edition of the 50-over day/night event to be held in Delhi; and while Railways, despite being the biggest recruiter, hasn't made the cut because it is a government agency and a full-fledged Ranji Trophy side — though another government organisation, Excise and Central Revenue, has been included — sources said Chemplast's exclusion was more contentious.

The Chemplast team are arch-rivals of India Cements, owned by BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, in the TNCA senior-division league. They employ India players Dinesh Karthik and Murali Vijay, former international Tinu Yohannan, and several first-class cricketers such as R Sathish, G Vignesh and R Jesuraj, among others.

They have been fielding a club team for five decades, and have won all prestigious tournaments across India, including the Moin-ud-Dowla Trophy on six occasions and the KSCA Trophy thrice. In all, the team have nurtured 30 former Test cricketers, and won T20 tournaments in Kolkata and Mumbai recently.

"I'm completely baffled at BCCI's decision to not invite us for the corporate tournament. We're amongst the best sides in the country, as well as a major recruiter. We've won every major tournament in the country but if still we aren't considered good enough to be invited amongst 12 teams, then there's more than cricketing logic being used," former India wicketkeeper Bharath Reddy, the coach of the Chemplast team, told The Indian Express. "Maybe it's about likes and dislikes." Srinivasan was not available for comments.

Incidentally, Chemplast includes a number of players with an ICL past, and Reddy himself has recently returned from the 'rebel' league.

The BCCI's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty, when asked about Chemplast's exclusion, said it was due to logistical problems.

"Earlier, we had planned to keep 16 teams for the corporate trophy, but there were many teams within the public sector and we were finding it difficult to place all of them. So, in the end, we decided to have only 12 teams for the inaugural edition. Therefore some teams lost out but next time the tournament will be for 16 teams," he said.

But the reasoning appears thin, especially when some of the corporate teams are struggling to field a full-fledged side as per the eligibility criteria. According to the letter sent by BCCI joint secretary Sanjay Jagdale, "Only permanent employees of the organisation are eligible, and the list has to be submitted to the board office by 31st July. Guest players are not allowed and the team needs to have a minimum of four first-class players, but two scholarships for under-19 players are allowed."

Cricketers are usually hired on contract by corporate teams ahead of big tournaments and then released immediately. According to sources, a couple of teams are having second thoughts because of the clause, and the board is reconsidering the issue.

Meanwhile, Abhay Sharma, the Railways coach, said he was disappointed that his team were not getting a chance. "We recruit so many cricketers every year at various levels. It's disappointing that we aren't part of the corporate tournament which is mooted to help create more employment avenues," he said.