England batsman James Vince believes the ECB's new No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) policy would lead to players preferring T20 leagues over first-class cricket, and that the new criteria even provide preferential treatment to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The England board decided in November 2024 not to provide NOCs to all-format players to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is slated for April-May this season, because the league coincides with the County Championship's early rounds.
However, Vince disregarded the ECB's decision and left first-class cricket to play for the Karachi Kings in the upcoming PSL 2025 season.
"When they first mentioned it, a WhatsApp group of players was created and there was a lot of discussion. The initial feeling was that it was going to drive people away from red-ball cricket. It felt like it was going to limit opportunities. Players were frustrated by it… There were a few things in there that [we] didn't understand,” Vince, who won the 2019 World Cup with England, told ESPNCricinfo.
The 33-year-old, who presently plays for Gulf Giants in the UAE's ILT20 tournament, was retained by the Kings before the PSL draft. This season, the PSL competes with both the IPL and the County Championships.
"That's a big one that has caused a lot of confusion. It's got to be something to do with relationships between the ECB, PCB, and BCCI as to why they've come up with that rule. The PSL's a shorter competition, so if you're going to play in that, you're probably missing less domestic cricket than if you're going to the IPL… It just didn't seem right,” Vince added.
Vince, who plays and captains Hampshire, has played 197 FC matches and captained the side 92 times, and led them to three consecutive top-three finishes.
However, Vince believes more players will follow him and forego red-ball contracts.
"There's more and more opportunities for guys to play white-ball cricket and earn decent money during our domestic season… You're talking quite large sums of money in terms of what they forego by playing red-ball cricket. Particularly further down their careers, when there's a big difference in those numbers, I'm sure more and more people will go down that route," Vince said.
(PTI inputs)
