Reports: Australian stars could be forced to give up their IPL contracts

With the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc on cricket all around the globe, Cricket Australia (CA) is reportedly set to force the Australian players to give up their rich Indian Premier League (IPL) contracts in order to stay safe. Last week, the BCCI suspended the thirteenth edition of the IPL till April 15 as a precautionary measure.

But even that has not stopped CA from reviewing whether the players should participate in the cash-rich league or not. The development comes after CA on Tuesday morning confirmed the 2019-20 Sheffield Shield final has been scrapped with NSW being declared champions.

As per rules, the players have all the rights to decide their participation in the IPL. CA chief executive Kevin Roberts on Tuesday said players were individually contracted to their IPL franchises and had the power to make up their own minds to compete in the 2020 IPL or not.

However, they cannot play in the league without a no-objection certificate from their parent body and thus CA is reviewing whether it will give the players permission to fly to India for the IPL and then the UK for The Hundred, according to Fox Sports. According to the report, Cricket Australia routinely gives players No Objection Certificates to participate in the annual IPL, but that is now under review.

“We can provide advice. We’re conscious of the fact that Australian players are individually contracted to the IPL and the time will certainly come very soon where players are going to be really interested and leaning on our perspective as their leader… to advise them in that regard,” said Roberts.

“And then there will also be a perspective from the BCCI and their IPL division within that and together with our players and the BCCI I’m sure players will reach the best possible decisions in uncertain circumstances,” he added.

Big loss for players

In case, the CA does not give the NOCs to the players, the latter will cope with big financial blows. The likes of Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, and other Aussie stars are set for a big windfall in the IPL. But given the way things are panning out at the moment, they could miss out on the same.

In this IPL auction, Cummins became the highest paid overseas player when Kolkata Knight Riders paid a whopping $3.2 million to secure his services. On the other hand, Maxwell received a $2.2 million contract from Kings XI Punjab. The likes of Smith and Warner would have also earned in millions.