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According to a report, England will not allow its players to take part in the Pakistan Super League and other franchise leagues except IPL that clash with the domestic summer.
England bans its players from playing in PSL. (Picture Credit: AP)
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which has recently confirmed the full availability of its players for the next three editions of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), has banned its players from participating in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) during the domestic season. According to a report in The Telegraph on Thursday (November 28), English players will not be allowed to take part in the PSL and other franchise leagues in the world apart from the IPL that clashes with the domestic summer.
The change is expected to damage the earning potential of several English players during the home series, but the board believes that the new approach will improve the quality of the domestic game.
“The ECB will also stop allowing players to appear in any competitions that overlap with the Vitality Blast and the Hundred. The board confirmed that players will be barred from leagues suspected of corruption and prevented from “double-dipping”—switching to a new tournament once eliminated from another competition taking place at the same time,” the report read.
Under the new policy, English players who no longer play First Class cricket will also not be allowed to miss English domestic white-ball games.
“We need to protect the integrity of our sport and the strength of our competitions in England and Wales as well,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
“This policy gives clarity to players and professional counties around our approach to issuing No Objection Certificates. It will enable us to strike the right balance between supporting players who want to take up opportunities to earn and gain experience while also protecting the integrity of cricket globally, ensuring we don’t undermine our own ECB competitions, and managing the welfare of centrally contracted England players,” he added.
Due to the ICC Champions Trophy in February and March next year, the 2025 edition of the Pakistan Super League is expected to take place from mid-March to mid-April and will coincide with the IPL, which is reportedly set to start on March 14.
The majority of the top English players like Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, and Reece Topley, among others, will play in the IPL after being picked by various franchises in the mega auction that was recently held in Jeddah on November 24 and 25.
