Player participation cap in T20 leagues should not be restricted: FICA

Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has objected to the International Cricket Council’s move to cap players’ participation in Twenty20 Leagues fearing that’ll affect the growth of the game.

In the ICC Annual Conference in Dublin last week, discussions were held where Full Members advocated the need to cap the participation as it was felt that it compromised international cricket.

“International cricket needs to be strong and give way to the best players. Establishing an appropriate balance between the two is critical for the future of cricket at the world level,” FICA said in a media release on Wednesday, July 4.

“The focus of cricket should be less on restricting players from playing where they are valued and more emphasis should be given on positive measures to ensure a system including in relation to “scheduling,profit-making and the creation of world-class environments”.

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“FICA is further concerned at reports following the ICC meetings that regulation in the form of a blanket is to be introduced to restrict players to playing in three T20 leagues and believes that any other restriction is likely to constitute a restraint of trade in most countries.”

In the past, several players from the Caribbean have preferred themselves playing in T20 leagues and instead of marking themselves ‘unavailable’ for the national team.

For instance, several big players – Sunil Narine, Kieran Pollard, Darren Bravo and Andre Russell – chose Pakistan Super League over the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in the beginning of this year.

This move is likely to hit West Indian cricketers the most as they are the most popular presence among the many global leagues.

Apart from the IPL and Big Bash League, the current cricket calendar consists of PSL, Caribbean Premier League, England’s T20 blast and Bangladesh Premier League apart from a new league kicking off later in South Africa.

Apart from these main tournaments, there are leagues coming up in Dubai and Norway as well, to add to the ongoing Global T20 Canada, where the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Sunil Narine are all involved.

Any formal decision will be taken by the ICC Board once the working group submits a formal report at the meeting scheduled to be held in October this year.