The IPL franchises are pondering over taking the next big step in the T20 world by offering multi-year contracts to players that will bind them to play for them through the year. This would rage on the debate and the tussle of national boards versus the franchises and players.
ESPNcricinfo has reported that players from a number of countries, including England, Afghanistan, and South Africa, have been approached by IPL franchises for contracts ranging up to INR 50 crore!
Players from different countries have been “involved in conversations with IPL franchises about the possibility of contracts which will see them play in multiple leagues for the franchise”.
“Though discussions have been informal, they do raise the prospect wherein the main employers for leading players could eventually be an IPL franchise, rather than a full-member board,” a report in ESPNcricinfo said.
Six England players were approached by franchises and have been talked up about taking contracts with them instead of their national board and county teams.
According to the executive chairman of FICA, the global players’ body, Heath Mills, franchises are in talks with players for year around contracts of England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and West Indies.
No player has so far signed any contact yet, but FICA was “aware of conversations for a little while now with a few players to be available for multiple competitions.”
Recently, the IPL franchise owners bought franchises in leagues in South Africa, UAE, and in the USA.
This would be what many fans had been talking about for the past couple of years: that cricket would turn the football way where the players play for most of the year for their clubs and occasionally the international matches and tournaments come around.
“Test cricket is still the hold for English players, I don’t see any time in the near future certainly where one of the Test players, certainly the centrally contracted players, is going to say ‘by the way I’m going off to America for three weeks,” Key said on the BBC’s Test Match Special podcast. “I just don’t think that’s going to happen. That is not a threat at the moment. Obviously it is different for white-ball cricketers.”
