English stars to consider ditching ECB contracts in favour of full-time Indian Premier League deals

Initial discussions have taken place after at least six English players, including some international stars, were approached by IPL franchise owners and asked whether, in principle, they would accept a deal that would make an Indian team their main employer, rather than the ECB or an English county.

This development follows discussions among players’ unions around the world about the potential implications of 12-month franchise contracts, which would be a significant step towards the football model of elite players being primarily contracted to their team and released for international duty, rather than the other way around. One source told The Times contract offers could come as soon as the end of the year.

IPL franchise owners have bought stakes in several T20 tournaments in the UAE, South Africa, Caribbean, and now the United States, with the new Major League Cricket venture starting in July. However, the prospect of a change of this magnitude has been accelerated by the imminent arrival of Saudi Arabia into the T20 franchise league market.

The Saudi government is in talks with the owners of the IPL to set up a lucrative new competition that could divide the sport in a similar way to the LIV Tour’s impact on golf.

With at least five tournaments in which IPL franchises have a stake, players contracted to a franchise could be in action for about seven months a year. The IPL is set to expand to ten weeks, while Saudi Arabia is likely to want a tournament of similar length. The Saudis are also expected to push for a window in the calendar free from international cricket, as the IPL has.

More Coverage

Atherton: Baseball antidote to cricket’s go-slow woes

Mike Atherton

Discussions have taken place with a number of high-profile Australians about full-time deals but this has now been extended to English players. Contracts could be worth upwards of 2 million pounds ($A3.75 million) a year and even as high as 5 million pounds ($A9.36 million) - more than five times the value of the most valuable England central contracts.

Reduced IPL deals - covering at least three of the tournaments - would also be on offer. It is unlikely that any of England’s Test stars would walk away from their central contracts in favour of a franchise deal but the sheer amount of money on offer makes that a risk in the future. What is more likely is that players will arrange “bespoke” deals, which could result in them being part-contracted to their county or ECB and part-contracted to a franchise.

For IPL franchises to offer such contracts, a change in ICC regulations would be required. At present it is not possible to be a purely freelance T20 player. All players require permission from their home board - a “No Objection Certificate” - before playing in any ICC-sanctioned T20 tournament.

Originally published as English stars to consider ditching ECB contracts in favour of full-time Indian Premier League deals