The England and Wales Cricket Board’s proposed alternative to the Indian Premier League is likely to be abandoned this week, according to the Times.
County chief executives and chairmen will meet on Wednesday to discuss two draft schedules for next season, however neither include the proposed P20 competition announced by the ECB in February.
The domestic schedule was due to include two Twenty20 tournaments, including a two-division P20 in June, however predictions that the P20 would bring in millions of pounds have been downgraded after difficulties finding a title sponsor and a question over whether the contracting of India players to first division teams would comply with employment law.
“The premise that Indian players could be centrally contracted with a requirement for one Indian player in each Division 1 team and assigned in a form of draft pick structure could be challengeable under the Race Discrimination Act/Restraint of Trade,” read a document circulated for discussion at Wednesday’s meeting.
“Furthermore, specialist international Twenty20 players may not qualify for work permits unless they have fulfilled the international player criteria. This is viewed as a substantial risk for a competition based in the UK/Europe. The presence of such players is a fundamental condition for an Asian broadcaster to televise P20 cricket to the Asian market.”
It is believed an enhanced version of the Twenty20 Cup is now the ECB’s plan to re-vamp the domestic schedule with more matches played on Friday nights and weekends. A final decision on the structure will be taken at an ECB meeting on July 29.
