ICC amends two new rules to regulate franchise leagues

With the fear of franchise T20 leagues eating away international cricket all around, the ICC (International Cricket Council) is set to take measures to protect players from going rogue on their national cricket boards. Recently, star England batter, Jason Roy, became the first international cricketer to give up his national contract to play in Major League Cricket in the US.

Following Roy’s decision, more cricketers are expected to follow suit and sign lucrative deals with T20 league franchises to represent them all year long. The move has alarmed Cricket Boards all around the world who are desperate to protect their players from signing such deals and be available for national duty when needed.

Amid the rapidly changing landscape of the cricketing world, the ICC has come to the rescue of the Boards as the cricket’s governing body is all set to bring two immediate changes next month. According to a report in The Telegraph, ICC will limit the number of overseas players to four per starting XI in franchise cricket and also ask T20 leagues to pay national boards for each player they sign.

The limit of four overseas players per franchise XI has been proposed as a result of the two new leagues beginning this year namely, The International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates, and America’s Major League Cricket. The International League T20 allowed nine overseas players per team while America’s Major League Cricket, set to begin in July, will permit nine in each squad and six in each playing XI. The limit of four overseas players, as is the case in the Indian Premier League, will protect cricketers from signing multi-team franchise deals as there will be fewer slots to fill.

Any tournament not following ICC guidelines will be termed an unsanctioned league

The second change will make the T20 leagues give national boards 10 per cent of the fee they will pay each player, again like the Indian Premier League. As these leagues grow in value, this figure will become an increasingly important source of income for national boards.

To make sure that all T20 leagues adhere to the rules set by ICC, any tournament not following them will be termed as an unsanctioned league. Hence, any player who takes part in them will be barred from the entire existing franchise and international structure. The move could prove way too costly for cricketers as they will miss out on lucrative offers from IPL and other sanctioned leagues.

As per reports, the limit of overseas players will only apply to players from the 12 Full Members, potentially allowing leagues in emerging countries to create extra slots for Associate players.