The ICC will face considerable opposition from players if it tries to bring in a cap on involvement in T20 leagues around the world, according to England’s limited-overs captain, Eoin Morgan. Plans to limit players to three T20 engagements a year have been mooted but Morgan warned there would be “huge legal ramifications” to such a restriction of employment.
Morgan, who has been named as one of five “icon players” for the UAE’s new T20x competition to be played in December and January, believes that far from impacting negatively on international cricket, the growth of T20 leagues has benefited the player pool by providing increased exposure and opportunity. The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) is also thought to be against the idea of a cap.
“I’m sure there would be some huge legal ramifications, of restricting guys’ employment, so I’m sure that would be met with quite a big [resistance] … I’m not sure how it would work,” Morgan said. “I don’t see that going through.”
Some boards are stricter than others on whether they issue no-objection certificates – the BCCI, for instance, does not allow Indian players to participate in overseas T20 leagues. CWI has been at the forefront of lobbying for reform but, in the absence of ICC regulation, the main lever for retaining control is through central contracts, with the PCB and BCB recently introducing limits for their contracted players.
Earlier this year, FICA warned that more and more young players were considering becoming free agents in order to play T20 around the globe, which could in turn undermine the value of international competition. However, Morgan believes prohibition is not the way to go.
“It creates a question, if you’re a young up-and-coming player, whether you want to make a decision early about sacrificing playing international cricket or going to one of the leagues,” he said. “It’s not really a question you want to be asking yourself – or you shouldn’t have to ask yourself.”
Rather than just another league clogging up the calendar, the UAE T20x, run by the Emirates Cricket Board, is being championed as a vehicle for growing the game in the region. In addition to six international players, each of the five franchises will be expected to have three UAE internationals, three players from Associate nations and four “emerging and junior” cricketers in their squads. Morgan said that commitment to development set the tournament apart from most others.
“I’m really excited about being part of it,” Morgan said. “Being part of a new tournament, there’s always that bit more behind it because it’s a new step, in the right direction, for an association. And with it being T20, it always has that financial incentive, in order to bring money back into the grassroots of the game.
“One thing about this tournament over every other that stood out for me – every tournament around the world you play in, there’s probably one stipulation where you have to pick an Under-23 or an emerging player in your squad, whereas this new tournament, you have to have three UAE current players in your squad and three Associate nation players in your squad. And that being set out from the very beginning rally does put the development of the ECB’s future players at the forefront of the tournament.”
Morgan’s path from growing up in Ireland, not traditionally considered a cricket stronghold, to captaining England and participating regularly on the T20 circuit – he has played in the IPL, Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League and Caribbean Premier League, as well as last year’s T10 in the UAE – gives him a different perspective to most on how to grow the game. He suggested that the rise of Ireland and Afghanistan, both recently elevated to Test status on the back of white-ball advances, and the success of players such as Rashid Khan in T20 offered a glimpse of what could be achieved in the UAE.
“One of the early stepping stones in my career was being exposed to playing against Test nations when I wouldn’t have had the opportunity coming through the English systems,” he said. “I was very fortunate being able to dip into both, Ireland were part of the C&G Trophy and I was able to play county cricket at a very young age; but also to go to tournaments, as a 20-year-old to go to the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, and being part of different games and playing the best teams in the world was huge.
“And the flip side of that is the first time I went to the IPL I shared a changing room with Dravid, Kumble, Kallis, Steyn, all these guys who I never would have been presented with the chance to pick their brains previously. So it’s nice I’m able to put myself in their shoes and give something back.
“Opportunity is massive and exposure is huge, and I think that pool of players is getting bigger and bigger. You only have to look at the two recent Associate nations being made Test nations, look at Ireland and Afghanistan and the strength and competition they’ve shown – particularly Afghanistan, the cricketers they’re producing – and that has a huge knock-on effect for teams that sit below those two. Those guys get opportunities and a tournament like this does present that.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo