ILT20 League: Country vs Franchise cricket: It was just three days ago that the New Zealand pacer Trent Boult gave the cricket world a huge shock. The pacer turned his back on New Zealand’s central contract and now the player has officially signed up for MI Emirates alongside other big stars Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo in UAE’s International T20 League. Follow ILT20 League live updates with InsideSport.IN
This rather brings to the front the debate of country vs franchise cricket, which is gradually creating a problem for many of the cricket boards around the world. The New Zealand pacer and the country’s cricket board were also involved in a couple of meetings before finally agreeing to his request.
With the popularity of franchise-based cricket leagues, players are showing more interest in it. The lure of money is another factor when it comes to the such kind of cricket besides allowing them more time to spend with the family. The latter was given as one of the main reasons for Boult not signing up the central contract.
But it is no surprise that the Mumbai Indians franchise has signed Boult, who is still looked upon as one of the best in the business. His best record in the IPL lies with Mumbai, scalping 25 wickets in 2020 season. Though the player currently plays for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, he was always an asset for Mumbai. Last season, Boult scalped an impressive 16 wickets to help his team reach the final of IPL 2022.
NEWS | NZC has agreed to release Trent Boult from his central contract so that he can spend more time with his family, while also making himself available for domestic leagues. Boult will complete the tour of the West Indies as scheduled.
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It also shows that the player can adjust to the team needs and deliver his best in different jerseys. The MI Emirates will be expecting something similar from Boult when he has that shiny new ball in his hand at the UAE’s International T20 League.
However, showing interest in franchise-based cricket is not new. Even recently West Indies coach Phil Simmons made a big statement stating that he cannot go and beg players to play for the national team.
It is important to note that brilliant T20 players, including Sunil Narine, Andre Russell have opened up their arms more to franchise cricket all over the world than West Indies.
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