Australia ODI and Test captain Pat Cummins has taken note of a report stating that, as the controversy around franchise pay disparities and Cricket Australia's contract structure heats up, Australian players may choose SA20 over the BBL starting in 2028.
According to a report published in The Age, several senior Australian players, including Cummins, were thinking about applying for no-objection certificates (NOCs) starting in 2028 in order to give the SA20 priority during the January window if Cricket Australia fails to raise player salaries in accordance with the quickly expanding T20 market.
Furthermore, the report stated that Australia's top multi-format players are earning nearly $1 million in foreign franchise leagues, which is significantly more than the current BBL contracts. It also cautioned that Cricket Australia might find it difficult to hold onto its greatest names if the wage disparity kept growing.
Cummins, however, publicly rubbished the claims and directly called out the report on social media.
“Everything you’ve written about me in this about SA20 NOC and The Hundred offer is made up,” Cummins wrote on X while replying to the journalist responsible for the report.
The report also claimed that The Hundred competition in England made offers of almost USD 800,000 to Australian fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, demonstrating the growing financial appeal of franchise cricket outside of Australia.
The report suggested that senior Australian players were not happy with the primary contracts offered by CA and have been negotiating with the board, with discussions around guaranteed payments, match fees, and greater flexibility regarding NOCs for overseas franchise leagues.
Cummins was cited in the report as cautioning that although Australian players were still devoted to playing for their country, it could eventually be impossible to ignore the financial realities of the international T20 market.
“Some of our guys are saying no to half a million pounds for 20 days’ work to go and play those two Test matches against Bangladesh. At the moment, our guys are so keen to play for Australia that they’re happy to forgo that, but I don’t think we can accept that that is going to be the case forever,” Cummins was quoted by the report in the Age.
According to reports, Cricket Australia is thinking about a number of ways to improve the BBL's standing, such as doing away with the overseas draft system so that more funds can be allocated to keeping local players.
As governing bodies try to strike a balance between international cricket and the financial might of the global T20 circuit, CA head of cricket James Allsopp also noted the significant challenge provided by the fast growth of franchise leagues worldwide, particularly in the white-ball format.
