Cricket, globally, has seen a meteoric rise in the number of domestic T20 leagues, with fans showing support for the growing popularity of the shortest version of the game. And with this rise, the future of international cricket might come into question. Recently, it has been reported that several top international cricket stars have been approached by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises with the proposal of representing their teams in several T20 leagues across the globe. According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, these have been informal discussions but can lead to a possibility wherein the franchise owners become the main employers for the players instead of their country’s cricket board. It has been reported in the Times that six English players were approached with such proposals. Cricket Australia Changes Salary Cap and Contract Rules For BBL to Entice More Star Cricketers.

Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) executive chairman Heath Mills states that similar conversations have taken place in South Africa, West Indies, Australia and also New Zealand. ESPNCricinfo quotes Mills saying, "There have been informal conversations between some franchises and players about being available to play in multiple tournaments. That can take a different shape and form for different players. But it should come as no surprise to anyone in cricket that these conversations are happening and that players will have these sorts of options in the future.”

“Without going into the specifics of individual conversations, they are about a player being available to play for a franchise in different T20 leagues. A franchise might have three or four teams globally, so they might want the player in multiple competitions - as opposed to just the IPL. It's not necessarily about signing a player up for all competitions exclusively but rather additional ones to their IPL team,” he added. ICC T20 Rankings: Mark Chapman, Iftikhar Ahmed Attain Career High Positions, Suryakumar Yadav Retains Top Spot.

Several IPL teams like Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings own teams in different T20 franchise leagues and the possibility of such a thing happening in the future. Mills stated that the FICA is "aware of conversations for a little while now with a few players to be available for multiple competitions,” although he does not know if players have signed such long-term contracts.

International cricket calendars are often stacked and players, with the possibility of earning more money, may give up on their national team contracts. Trent Boult, last year, was released from his New Zealand contract after he stated that he wanted to be available for several T20 leagues and also spend more time with his family. So what is the solution to this? Jonny Bairstow, English Wicketkeeper-Batter, Makes His Comeback on Crease After Eight Months.

Mills, however, states that there's a way to avoid clashes between T20s and international cricket, if three windows are created in a year for the T20 leagues. "One option boards have is to actually come together and agree to incorporate T20 leagues in their bilateral programme and within that process look at creating windows for T20 leagues. You might create a window in April-May for IPL, you might create another window for T20 leagues in the southern hemisphere in January and early February, you might create another window in September before an ICC event.

"You could look to create windows where people agree to not play any international cricket when a T20 league is happening. Everyone will need to compromise a little bit, but it is possible. Until that happens, there will continue to be a collision and players will be forced to make a choice. And sadly I'm not sure bilateral cricket will win,” he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 27, 2023 10:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).