Lord’s
officials will also be requested to find a way to accommodate those who wish to play
in future IPL seasons.
Not many of the English Cricketers are currenlt signed up with IPL teams though player’s names like Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen still remain on the wishlists of the eight Indian city franchises, and
although both those men have expressed their commitment to England,
allowing them to play a few weeks a year on the subcontinent might keep
them happy within the current framework of central contracts.
Next year’s tournament appears out of bounds to
centrally-contracted individuals as things stand, given that England
are due to tour the Caribbean in the spring.
After Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, reiterated his willingness
to shift the dates of the cash-rich 20-over competition in future years
to accommodate Englishmen, the Professional Cricketers’ Association
will canvass the views of the national side once they are over their
jet lag after the return trip from New Zealand.
Although Dimitri Mascarenhas is the only England international
in this year’s tournament, which starts next month, discourse with the
England and Wales Cricket Board is needed if a window is to be opened
in future.
“We will ask the players how they feel,” PCA chief executive
Sean Morris said. “We need to sit them down and ask their personal
views - some might have different opinions to others.
“But I would like to think on behalf of the players we would be
able to take advantage of this concept and allow them to reap the
benefits.
“There may be a very strong collective view but there may also
be different circumstances for each individual which would affect their
decision.
“We have a very open dialogue with the ECB right now, we met
this week and will be meeting with them again next week, so there is a
strong channel of communication.
“Mr Modi is saying that he’s prepared to move his tournament to
accommodate English players and that is music to everyone’s ears in
this country.”
“All the players have said that England is their priority but
the issue will come to a head in September when they are due to sign
their contracts,” Morris added.
Although that is some months away, it appears in everyone’s interests to evaluate the best way forward as soon as possible.
One sensible solution might be to factor in a gap in the
scheduling for 2010 as a reward for touring the West Indies as planned
in 12 months’ time.
PCA chairman Dougie Brown, a former England one-day
international, added: “It’s important for everyone to get together -
PCA, the players’ representatives and the ECB - to try to come to an
agreement as to what is and isn’t acceptable.
“IPL is not something that is going to go away - it’s going to
be around for 10 years at least because they have signed a 10-year
agreement.
“So we have to compartmentalise it within our own calendar,
create a window of opportunity, or it will be a precarious situation
that the ECB will find themselves in.
“You might find guys coming to the end of their careers will
not sign a central contract, they will go and sign with the IPL
instead. Suddenly you will be losing people a couple of years earlier
than you might have.”
Meanwhile, the green lights Yorkshire and Sussex received for
their signings of Pakistan duo Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mushtaq Ahmed
earlier this week now have more of an amber tinge.
The matter was effectively resolved this week when both clubs
submitted registration forms for the players along with ‘No Objection
Certificates’ from the Pakistan Cricket Board to Lord’s.
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India have an
understanding with other major nations that individuals who participate
in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League will not be allowed to ply
their trade in any top-level competition.
And the BCCI have already warned that any teams with links to
the ICL will be ineligible for the Champions League-style club Twenty20
event scheduled for October.
Given that as-yet unfinalised tournament - between the top two
20-over teams from India, England, Australia and South Africa - offers
�1million to the winners, playing either man is potentially costly.
“That is a worry,” admitted Yorkshire chief executive Stewart
Regan, whose has a copy of the NOC dated March 17, after Rana played in
the ICL.
“The England and Wales Cricket Board are standing by their
original view that the Twenty20 Champions League is a tournament by
invitation only.”
Sussex chief executive Gus MacKay added: “Our main priority has been to get Mushy registered.
“We cannot afford to wait a month and then have to find an
overseas player. There has been an indication this tournament will take
place but we have seen no tournament arrangements.”
