County cricket in fresh scheduling concern after PSL and IPL dates clash

Olly Stone is among the English players who won contracts to appear in this year’s PSL – Getty Images/Gareth Copley

County cricket faces a new scheduling clash amid fears that more than 30 English players will miss the start of next season, and more homegrown players could become white-ball only.

Next season’s Pakistan Super League is set to be played from April 7 to May 20 – a direct clash with the Indian Premier League. This season’s IPL is being played from March 22 to May 26, with a similar window – possibly slightly later – expected for 2025. Both competitions would then clash with the first two months of the English domestic season.

In total, up to 122 overseas players could be signed by teams in the two leagues, with extra slots opening up if players withdraw due to injury. English players have been the most in-demand overseas players in the past three years of the PSL and IPL, sparking fears over an exodus of English talent at the start of the summer. The PSL and IPL running in tandem will also leave counties scrambling to find high-class overseas players.

Phil Weston, an influential agent, warned that some English players would be encouraged to explore quitting the first-class game. “It may push guys to follow the lead of someone like Jason Roy and make themselves only available for the counties outside of franchise opportunities,” said Weston, who is head of cricket management at TGI Sport.

“There is a huge demand for English T20 talent around the world,” said Ben Jones, an analyst for CricViz who has worked with Islamabad United in the PSL and Delhi Capitals in the IPL. “Without objection from counties, it would be realistic to think anywhere upwards of 30 English players could be signed or drafted to IPL and PSL squads in 2025.”

A total of 45 English players have appeared in these two leagues across the last three seasons.

Any English players appearing in the IPL or PSL would need the consent of either the England and Wales Cricket Board (if they have central contracts) or of their counties, who have to provide No Objection Certificates. Counties have tried to manage the situation in recent years, with a ruling that if players receive IPL offers after February 28 they are barred from going to the competition, unless they are white-ball specialists. In practice, many counties do not enforce this rule.

Counties are already braced for a tussle with players over missing Championship matches to play in next year’s PSL. Many county contracts currently only allow players to miss domestic games to appear in the IPL.

“If the county contracts players have already signed are for IPL releases only, that would be the case,” one county director of cricket told Telegraph Sport. “All-format players currently under contract to their counties would only have an IPL release clause, would be my understanding.”

With greater opportunity for English players to win lucrative overseas contracts early next summer, more could now focus on white-ball cricket. This summer, half of Championship fixtures are played before the end of May, so any such players would miss this entire chunk of matches.

PSL can offer more than counties

Many of the best players without England contracts, who do not have IPL deals and normally play in the Championship in this window, are likely to be offered the chance to play in next year’s PSL, potentially earning significantly more than they would for playing in English domestic cricket at the same time.

Jordan Cox, James Vince, Dan Lawrence, Leus du Plooy, Olly Stone and Tom Kohler-Cadmore are among the English players who have played in the Championship this summer but won contracts to appear in this year’s PSL.

“Overseas players will have a choice of IPL, PSL or county cricket – that potentially leaves a smaller pool to pick from,” said Daryl Mitchell, the chief operating officer of the Professional Cricketers Association. “We’ve obviously had reasonable number of players play in the PSL previously, encroaching into the English season makes that a lot more difficult.

“The standard county contract deals with other cricket in the season and counties choose whether they issue an NOC or not.”

In 2022, Somerset’s Will Smeed retired from first-class cricket before he had made his debut in the format to become a white-ball specialist, aged only 21.

English players have a growing number of opportunities to play short-format cricket in the summer in overseas leagues, with Major League Cricket in the USA a growing presence. This summer, Alex Hales and Jason Roy have both been given the right by their counties to miss Twenty20 Blast matches to play in either Major League Cricket or the Lanka Premier League. Some players might be more inclined to consider missing T20 Blast matches because of the extra earnings the PSL could provide.

The scheduling of next year’s PSL will also have a major knock-on effect on the quality of overseas players that counties can access during the April and May window. Pakistan captain Shan Masood, who is Yorkshire captain, is among those who would not be available early next summer.

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