ECB set to ban players from Pakistan Super League; IPL exempted: Reports

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is set to introduce a policy that would ban its players from taking part in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and other T20 leagues, which will clash with the English summer. However, according to the original report published in The Telegraph, an exemption will be made for the Indian Premier League (IPL), which has a dedicated two-and-a-half-month window between March and May in the ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP). 

PSL, which used to take part before the IPL, has been moved ahead in the calendar this year because of the Champions Trophy that is scheduled to begin in February in Pakistan. This has led to an inevitable clash with the IPL. However, PSL would be seriously affected by this decision as well due to the strong participation of English players in the league. In 2023, 16 English players played in the PSL. 

The ECB has made this move to “safeguard the quality of the domestic game” in England. Combining the IPL and PSL would have depleted the quality of many County sides, as their top players would be overseas playing the league. 

The move has also been introduced to reduce the instances of players jumping from one league to another in a span of a few days. It will further curb the instances of English players being involved in dodgy franchise leagues. The ECB can also take a step to bar players from taking part in leagues suspected of corruption. 

While the move is set to strengthen the appeal of domestic cricket summer in England, including the The Hundred and The T20 Blast, it affects English cricketers' chances of earning some extra bucks. However, players with a white ball-only contract like Saqib Mahmood would be allowed to feature in the PSL or any other league during the 2025 summer. 

“This policy clarifies to players and professional counties around our approach to issuing No Objection Certificates,” Richard Gould, ECB chief executive, said,as quoted by The Telegraph. 

“It will enable us to strike the right balance between supporting players who want to take up opportunities to earn and gain experience, while also protecting the integrity of cricket globally, ensuring we don’t undermine our own ECB competitions, and managing the welfare of centrally contracted England players.”

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