Cricket Australia has introduced multi-year contracts for international talent in the Big Bash League, enticing overseas players to commit to the entire season.
On Tuesday morning, CA announced that Big Bash clubs will be able to bypass the draft and sign one overseas player on a multi-year deal with a maximum of three years. However, from 2025 onwards, BBL and WBBL players who sign multi-year contracts will need to be available for the entire season, including finals.
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The emergence of rival T20 tournaments, including South Africa’s SA20 and the United Arab Emirates’ ILT20, has made it difficult for BBL clubs to secure the services of high-profile international talent in the second half of January.
During this summer’s BBL, international stars Colin Munro, Sam Billings, Laurie Evans, James Vince and Jamie Overton abandoned their respective clubs ahead of the finals to play in the lucrative ILT20. Platinum overseas players earn $420,000 in the BBL for committing to the whole season, but the Indian Premier League-funded ILT20 has substantially more financial muscle.
Further complicating the situation is several players signing ILT20 deals before September’s BBL draft, where cricketers have no guarantee of being picked up. However, the newly-introduced multi-year contract system gives international stars more security and certainty surrounding arrival and departure dates.
Big Bash clubs will still be required to pick at least two overseas players during each season’s draft, while teams now have the opportunity to poach rival talent because retention rules do not apply for the multi-year contract option.
Meanwhile, overseas players can be signed at a negotiated price above the platinum rate of $420,000, testing the depth of each club’s salary cap.
The multi-year contracts also replace the WBBL’s controversial direct nomination rule, which resulted in seven clubs passing one of their picks during the draft.
“We have worked closely with clubs and the ACA to continue developing and enhancing the Big Bash, and a key focus has been ensuring the best players continue to compete in the Big Bash, and for longer periods,” Alistair Dobson, CA’s general manager of Big Bash Leagues, said, as reported by cricket.com.au.
“The opportunity for international players to ink multi-year deals with teams not only strengthens the league’s global appeal but also provides clubs with greater stability and strategic planning capabilities.”
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