‘Pretty normal for this time of year – George Bailey downplays concerns surrounding Australia players rejecting central contracts

Former cricketer and current chair of selectors, George Bailey, has dismissed concerns surrounding the fact that some senior Australian players have rejected the initial central contract offers, calling them all part of the negotiation tactics used by their agents. 

According to reports, five Australian players rejected the central contract offer, with dissatisfaction over the value of the deal, the balance between match fees and guaranteed retainers, along with NOC concerns. 

Bailey, who himself played in the IPL for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and Chennai Super Kings, acknowledges that the modern-day international cricketers have a plethora of options in front of them due to the advent of franchise cricket across the globe. 

“I actually think that’s pretty normal for this time of year. One of the important things to understand is that we offer our national contracts at the end of April largely to unlock the state contracting process and allow states to plan their lists with certainty,” George Bailey was quoted as saying on India Today.

“The actual contracts don’t kick in until the end of June or early July. Agents are naturally trying to get the best possible deals for their clients, and I don’t think this year is any different. There’s no doubt we acknowledge there’s a changing landscape. Players do have options. It’s an exciting time to be a player and we’re constantly trying to strike that balance,” he added. 

Bailey, however, has continued to back his stars, claiming that the international stars are still extremely motivated to represent the country, knowing that these performances eventually land them a lucrative franchise contract, be it in the IPL or anywhere else in the world. 

“There’s this tension in the marketplace, if you want to put it that way. But we’re fortunate to have a group of players who remain passionate about playing for Australia. They understand that performing well for Australia is still the best way to put yourself in the shop window for franchise opportunities,” Bailey said. 

The constant tussle between international duty and representing a franchise team came back to light when Australia announced their white-ball squad travelling to Pakistan and Bangladesh later this year. The squad does not include the fast-bowling trio of Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and ODI captain Pat Cummins. The latter last played white-ball cricket for the Aussies nearly two years ago. Despite being allowed to play in the IPL, though late, Cricket Australia have been managing the trio’s workload, with a busy Test schedule on the horizon.

The scheduling clash between international fixtures and franchise tournaments could see a few Australian players opt out of the central contract scheme and play as freelancers, and thus rely on CA’s minimum international appearance requirements. This year, the timing of their Test series against Bangladesh coincides with The Hundred, with a host of players not making themselves available for England’s franchise competition.