Mumbai: Owners of top IPL franchises have reportedly approached six consistent players from England to quit international and county crickets and take up handsome annual contracts ranging upto 5 million pounds to play T20 leagues around the year.
According to a Times London report, “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.”
The report further added, “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.”
It remains a fact that close to every IPL franchise has branched out to other parts of the world including CPL, SAT20, Global T20 League, and the upcoming Major League T20 (USA).
The report further claimed that the contract offer could be announced by the end of the year.
ICC has a cap on the number of leagues a contracted player can take part in a year. However, with the growing popularity and money in the leagues, young players are likely to explore the possibility of early retirement from international cricket and become free agents.
The report added “Discussions have already taken place with a number of high-profile Australian players about full-time deals but this has now been extended to English players. Contracts could be worth upwards of GBP 2 million a year and even as high as GBP 5 million — more than five times the value of the highest England central contracts.”
(With Agency Inputs)
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