Dubai: According to an article in The Age, Saudi Arabia is reportedly in discussions with Indian Premier League (IPL) owners about the possibility of establishing a high-paying T20 tournament in the country. This would make it one of the world’s richest T20 competitions, backed by a combination of Saudi businesses and IPL conglomerates that have already purchased multiple T20 franchises globally.

The report suggests that Indian cricketers, who are currently banned from playing in overseas T20 tournaments by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), could be permitted to participate.

Newly-formed domestic cricket leagues need to be sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and approved by its members, while national boards have to provide No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for players to compete in overseas T20 tournaments. Because Saudi Arabia is not a full ICC member, any potential domestic T20 tournament would not be recognized as an official List A competition, meaning matches wouldn’t appear in the players’ domestic T20 records. However, concerns are growing that cricketers, particularly those nearing retirement, may abandon their international commitments to participate in high-paying T20 leagues. Last year, New Zealand cricketers Trent Boult and Martin Guptill were released from their national contracts in a landmark deal to focus on T20 franchise cricket._Online

Published in The Daily National Courier, April, 15 2023

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