England may soon be in contention for their best XI as Indian Premier League teams consider signing the world’s best players on one-year Twenty20 contracts.
Eight out of 10 IPL franchises own at least one team from another overseas league, and owners Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals have won teams in the new T20 tournaments in South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
In the last few days it has been reported that informal talks have already begun with players from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies to play in each of the leagues around the world.
AND I It has been said that some English stars have also been offered deals that will likely leave their international availability up to their club owners.
Andrew Britzke, leader of the South African Players Union, has accused the ICC of sleeping at the wheel as the creeping power of the world’s most profitable league threatens to change the global game forever.
“Contracts are being offered to players from England and Australia, and of course this is also true for players from other countries,” he says.
“Everyone has been warned that this will happen, we have always said that the spread of T20 events will eventually destroy bilateral cricket and this is what is happening.
“This is another step towards turning cricket into football. Players are signed to the club and then released for international matches.
“ICC has closed its corner of the calendar for its events. [the T20 World Cup and the 50 over World Cup]and the rest of the schedule is then filled with franchise tournaments.
“Unfortunately it’s a little FICA [the global players’ union] said it would happen six years ago. We said that the International Criminal Court must intervene and control the situation, otherwise bilateral cricket will practically disappear.
And they didn’t do anything. The ICC is not interested.”
Britzke believes that a potential new T20 event in Saudi Arabia will be a game-changer.
“Countries cannot compete with the wealth you are talking about here,” he says. “The real catalyst when it comes to this is the competition from Saudi Arabia. If it does, it should probably happen during their winter.
“In order to get this league on its feet, they will need a lot of foreign players because they don’t have domestic players to choose from. So you have to keep in mind that with six teams you need at least 100-120 players.
“Where do they get it from? You get them from England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
“If franchises are owned by IPL teams, then the IPL competes not only in the original tournament, but also in the T20 tournament in South Africa, the upcoming league in America, the T20 in the United Arab Emirates and the Saudi Arabian league.
“And here it is – five tournaments scattered throughout the year where players can be signed. There will be a gap in the ICC competition calendar, but where is the two-sided cricket?
Administrations are already having to adjust to this quicksand. The England and Wales Cricket Board are reportedly planning to increase match fees and offer key players multi-year contracts to retain their best talent.
Last month, Cricket Australia announced a 7.5% wage increase for its centrally signed players and also raised the salary cap for the country’s national T20 competition, Big Bash.
“The cricket landscape is rapidly changing and signing an Australian player has already taken on a different format,” said Neil Maxwell, one of Australia’s top players’ agents.
“Cricket has traditionally survived competition between countries and countries – this is unsustainable in the long run.
“The landscape is changing, just like with the EPL. [Premier League] A system where playing for the club comes first.”
As an example of what the future might eventually look like, Britzke cites the current New Zealand series in Pakistan.
“I strongly believe that what is happening in Pakistan right now is the future of world football,” he said. “In other words, we will almost reach the second tier of the two-way cricket game in terms of talent.
“You can play, but you are no longer playing against your best players. Everyone accepts the fact that this is happening. It may not happen outside of the big three countries, but you can see games that have players like South Africa, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and their main players don’t.
“This is the only way for international cricket to survive because of the calendar.
“Our cricket has no context anymore. The only context in our sport is ashes, so it remains popular. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that countries like South Africa will not be competitive in the test arena simply because they don’t play enough.”
Additional agency reporting