IPL franchises to have first right to sign their players in UAE T20 league

The UAE T20 League, with three original Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises on board, will be extending them the option of signing players of its IPL teams. Cricket learns that Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals can sign up to four players each from their existing IPL rosters. As an IPL franchise official puts it, they will have the first right to sign their players.

Specifically, the six-team league, promoted and operated by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), permits Knight Riders to sign players like Sunil Narine, Andre Russell or any other player from its current or previous line-up so that they can preserve their identity. In the same way, Mumbai Indians can sign up the likes of Kieron Pollard, Tim David, or even Jofra Archer if they wish. Ditto for the Delhi Capitals side too!


"Each franchise will be allowed to sign four players of their choice outside of the draft or auction which we will decide later," Mubashir Usmani, the secretary-general of the ECB, told this website on Thursday (June 2). "It could be any player who has a NOC from his home board."

The ECB has not yet decided to have an auction or a draft; the chances of going with the second option are likely so that the inevitable comparisons with the IPL can be averted.

Other three franchises, owned by the Adani Group, the Glazer family and Capri Global - virtually debutant investors in the cricket leagues - may also have the same choice so that a level playing field is being ensured. All teams will be allowed a player fee of USD 2 million, the purse being second-best among the franchise-based leagues after the IPL.

With the league, tentatively being planned between early January and mid-February in 2023, the schedule can potentially clash with the league that the Cricket South Africa is planning to launch early next year and in that context, the CSA has reportedly requested the Cricket Australia (CA) to defer three ODIs between the sides on January 12, 14 and 17.

The move is to ensure the participation of its players in its T20 league and CA, which released its season's international schedule recently, has kept those three games in the 'subject to confirmation' category. The ECB officials are planning to have talks with the CSA to avoid a total overlap. Invited by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), a few ECB officials, including its vice-chairman Khalid Al Zarooni, were in Ahmedabad for the IPL final on Sunday.