Players prioritizing T20 leagues are hardly a Boult from the blue
Players prioritizing T20 leagues are hardly a Boult from the blue: Trent Boult gave up his New Zealand Cricket contract. This is another sign of a revolution sweeping through the game. This indicates a change happening not at the leisurely pace of a test match but at the breakneck speed of Twenty20 innings. Boult is a key figure in the teams that won the inaugural World Test Championship and finished runners-up in three limited overs World Cups. Boult will be having a “significantly reduced role” with the New Zealand team.
He requested his release from his contract to spend more time with his young family. A New Zealand Cricket (NZC) statement, on the other hand, said that the 33-year-old wanted to make himself available for “domestic leagues”. A packed international calendar in three formats of the game and an additional strain of playing in biosecure bubbles during the COVID-19 pandemic has forced players like Boult to breaking point.
Ben Stokes quit the 50-overs format a month before citing an “unsustainable” workload. On the other hand, South Africa’s Quinton de Kock dropped out of test cricket last year. All three players have, however, played in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“The decisions that Quinton de Kock, and specifically Trent Boult, have made, point to a future of shorter international careers and more players happy to be part of the gig economy,” tweeted the commentator, Harsha Bhogle. “With young families, it is not easy to play both, international cricket and T20 leagues.”
Bhogle said it would not be fair to criticize players who prioritize franchise cricket for “desire and opportunism”.
“Do remember cricketers finish their playing careers when most others are entering their best phase,” he added. “And we change jobs that offer more money and convenience, no?”
“Several West Indies players have effectively turned into Twenty20 freelancers, earning a lot more from franchise cricket than they could have playing international cricket.”
The uncertainty around the availability of the key players has been frustrating for the West Indies chief coach Phil Simmons. He has been under pressure ahead of this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia. “It hurts. There is no other way to put it,” an exasperated Simmons expressed on Wednesday.
“But what can you do? I do not think that I should be begging people to play for their countries.” New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said as more New Zealand cricketers ruled out following Boult’s example.
“They are still talking about test cricket – and performing for New Zealand – as being incredibly important,” White told the Cricinfo website. “The other thing is that if you are going to get a big offer from a big league, you have got to be a successful international cricketer.”
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has a discussion on the growth of T20 leagues in its annual general meeting in Birmingham. If anyone is looking to them for leadership, they might be disappointed. The governing body went on to put the onus on the member boards to find a balance between domestic and bilateral cricket. This decision is taken to better manage the workload of players.