Players are said to have expressed “strong opinions” to their representatives at the PCA and believe there was not enough consultation by the ECB before the new policy was introduced. They are also seeking greater clarity on specific scenarios that could arise both during the upcoming English summer and during the current off-season.
An ECB spokesperson confirmed to ESPNcricinfo on Monday that under the terms of their policy, any players who have any provision for playing red-ball cricket in their county contracts will not be considered a white-ball specialist. This could have major repercussions for the PSL in April-May, ruling out several English players.
A senior county source said the new restrictions will ensure the country’s best cricketers are available to play in the county championship and will remind players that their county clubs are their main employers. But others fear that a strict interpretation could risk a number of players retiring from red-ball cricket to play in the PSL or other leagues that coincide with the English summer.
Players are also frustrated by the fact that NOCs will be given to county cricketers of all formats for the IPL but not the PSL, which they perceive as a huge inconsistency. There is no explicit mention of either league in the published policy, but the ECB has given clear indications that it will continue to issue NOCs for the IPL as it has done in previous years.
“There is anger and resentment around this,” an agent told ESPNcricinfo on Monday. “This new policy simply seems to show that the power is with India, and it seems that the ECB does not want to upset India… The players feel that they are not being heard: has the PCA expressed the players’ feelings? to the ECB with enough firmness? Or has the ACC been left aside in this regard?
More meetings are scheduled for later this week, including one between the PCA and UK-based player agents on Wednesday morning. Daryl Mitchell, interim executive director of the PCA, told ESPNcricinfo on Friday that the union’s legal team was “completing a thorough check” of the new policy, raising the possibility of a restraint of trade lawsuit.
