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English counties face losing more of their top homegrown talent in the first two months of next season – and potentially for years to come – amid a proposal to have the Pakistan Super League (PSL) run alongside the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The 10-team IPL is the only franchise T20 league to overlap with the start of District Championship in April and May, with this year’s edition featuring 12 English players among the 80 overseas slots – fewer than one per country.
But hosting the next Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February 2025 will mean the six-team PSL will run from April 7 to May 20, opening up another 42 well paid overseas slots in franchise cricket in the first two months of the English season.
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Already a popular destination for English cricketers during the off-season – 16 featured in the latest edition of the PSL – existing alongside the IPL will also affect the recruitment of overseas players for the County Championship. already a difficult, congested market which has seen an increase in short-term deals in recent seasons.
According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, Pakistan Cricket The board can even make the overlap permanent. With their own players not having access to the IPL, the main battle will be for foreign signings. Additionally, the PSL is expected to expand from six to eight teams by 2026, thereby opening up 14 more overseas venues.
Under current regulations, all England players wishing to compete in overseas T20 leagues require a no-objection certificate from either the England and Wales Cricket Board (if centrally contracted) or their county. While IPL clauses already exist in county contracts – along with agreed compensation – clubs could in theory block a player willing to miss the start of the PSL’s top-flight season.
However, this could in turn spark a full-fledged white-ball specialty for far more than a handful at present, not least among those just below international level or in England’s white-ball-only set-up. Franchise leagues now appear regularly enough for players to switch from one to another, not least with the arrival of the USA Cricket Premier League in July and the Hundred in August.
The decision of county players to prioritize franchise opportunities has become a thorny issue of late. I saw a number last summer English clubs express concerns that contracted players simply used their pitches for injury rehabilitation and training, with their county appearances becoming increasingly fleeting.
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