In order to incentivize foreign players to commit for the full season, Cricket Australia has implemented multi-year contracts for international talent in the Big Bash League. Big Bash clubs will be allowed to sign one overseas player on a multi-year contract with a maximum of three years, CA announced on Tuesday morning, circumventing the draft process. However, players in the BBL and WBBL who sign multi-year contracts after 2025 will have to be available for the whole season, including the playoffs and the final.
Rival T20 competitions, such as the SA20 in South Africa and the ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates, have grown in popularity, making it more challenging for BBL teams to secure the services of high-profile international talent in the second half of January.
International players Colin Munro, Sam Billings, Laurie Evans, James Vince, and Jamie Overton left their respective clubs before the finals to play in the lucrative ILT20 during this summer’s BBL. For committing to the entire season, platinum overseas players in the BBL receive $420,000, but the Indian Premier League-funded ILT20 has significantly more financial clout.
The fact that a number of players signed ILT20 contracts ahead of September’s BBL draft, when cricketers have no assurance of being selected, further complicates matters. However, international stars now have more security and predictability regarding their arrival and departure dates thanks to the recently implemented multi-year contract system.
Big Bash teams will still need to select two foreign players in the first round of the draft each season, but teams can now steal talent from their rivals because the multi-year contract option is exempt from retention rules.
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