ILT20 2022 Updates: A report states that the top 15 Australian players has offered a whopping AUD $700,000 deal to skip the Big Bash League (BBL) and to get part in the International League (ILT20).
ILT20 Offers AUD $700,000 for Australian Player to Skip BBL
Notably, the dates of the Big Bash League and The International League (ILT20) overlaps during the December and this causes considerable tension in Cricket Australia (CA)’s ranks.
The Big Bash League will be played between December 13 to February 4 while the inaugural edition of ILT20 is scheduled from January 6 to February 12.
According to a report in Sydney Morning Herald, “As many as 15 Australian players have been offered contracts worth up to AUD 700,000 a year to abandon the Big Bash League and play in the UAE Twenty20 tournament in January.”
According to Australian newspapers ‘The Age’ and ‘The Sydney Morning Herald’ by senior cricket sources, “the scale of the attempted raid on Australian players goes far beyond the threat of losing one player – David Warner – to the UAE because he does not have a BBL deal.”
The paper also revealed: “UAE contract sizes so far above and beyond what has been on offer in the BBL have placed Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association under pressure to reassure players that they are not being left behind the rest of the world by remaining loyal to the game in this country.”
The BBL’s highest draft payment to date was $258,000 (AUD$370,000) from D’arcy Short, and the money was significantly lower compared to what Australian main players were paid in the IPL.
“While CA is in talks with Warner about finding a way to get him back into the BBL this summer, the governing body’s chief executive Nick Hockley and his player union counterpart Todd Greenberg have been fielding countless calls from players about the offers,’ SMH further reported.
However it is learnt CA in its bid to retain the sheen and quality of BBL, is keen on signing a lucrative one-off deal with Warner, which will prevent him from taking up the ILT20 offer.
“They do have this genuine sense of care about the game – if they didn’t, they would be mercenaries and take what’s in front of them.
“But they’re not, they’re actually taking a mature, considered approach to this and trying to be part of the solution. This comes down to establishing trust with your own players and the relationships you develop with them,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg feels that Australian players are not “mercenaries” and would eventually take an informed and matured decision.
“I do know CA have to stay within the salary cap principles for any player and that includes Dave (warner),” Greenberg said.
But he didn’t forget to mention that CA needs to do something about the salary cap.
“But clearly they’ve got to try to make the best offer they can to keep him here. It’s a balance of trying to make sure you’re attracting your best players and there’s some equity in the system and the model, so that all of them have the opportunity to play and are remunerated accordingly.”
