The UAE-based T20 League known as ILT20, slated to begin in 2023, has drawn the attention of quite a few star players across the globe.
Australia's Chris Lynn is also among them, having registered himself for the league as a marquee player. However, his participation might be in jeopardy if Cricket Australia (CA) doesn’t issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC).
Apparently, the ILT20 is likely to clash with Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL). As a result, CA could be hesitant to issue the NOC. But Lynn’s case is an interesting one as he neither has a contract with Cricket Australia nor his state side Queensland.
Sharing his two cents on the issue, former Australia skipper Ian Chappell recently said that he would have taken CA ‘to court’ if he wasn't issued NOC.
“To me, you then go back to the World Series Cricket days, where they took the board to court over restraint of trade. Is it a restraint of trade? In Chris Lynn’s case, if he hasn’t got a contract with Cricket Australia or Cricket Queensland, what’s to stop him?
“If I was Chris Lynn and I wanted to play in the UAE I’d take them to court. I don’t think Cricket Australia would have a hope in hell. It’s got to be a restraint of trade. You’re not contracting him, but you’re not letting him play either,” Chappell was quoted as saying by Wide World of Sports.
With the window for T20 leagues keeps getting longer, the bilateral series between international teams may get squeezed going forward.
Speaking on the same line, Chappell pointed out another problem as he said: “I think a lot of the older players will get offers from that area, and that will be a real challenge for nations like Australia who have a lot of good players, and also for nations that can’t afford to pay their players the best rates.”
“Then you’ve got the problem of the IPL franchises owning teams in different leagues around the world. If you’ve got a decent IPL contract and the choice is between Australia and your IPL franchise’s UAE team, well are you going to put your IPL contract at risk?" he elaborated.
