Sydney, Feb 17 (IANS) Five Australian players were given a one-day extension to sign their Indian Premier League (IPL) contracts, so that the franchises can bid for them Wednesday, Australian media reported Sunday.
The unnamed players were seeking clarification of the contract’s finer details but all were expected to sign after Cricket Australia (CA) gave them the green signal.
“There is always a chance (one of the five players may not sign) but at this point we have alleviated any issues they have had,” Australian player agent Neil Maxwell, who has been working with IPL organisers, was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald. “There hasn’t been a great deal of time to digest the agreement.”
The five, who are understood to have considerable personal sponsorships that might be affected, along with the rest of the side, only received a revised version of the IPL contract last Thursday. The other contracted Australian players returned their signed IPL contracts Saturday.
CA had warned all players that they may be breaching their national contracts in some instances — such as wearing uniforms featuring rival sponsors’ logos, or if more than two players are picked for the same franchise — but those issues will be dealt with individually. CA is likely to seek financial compensation from organisers if this happens.
Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) chief executive Paul Marsh said the organisation would battle with CA on the jersey logo issue, because it would be a case of “a team endorsement rather than an individual endorsement” and that would not breach their contract.
Marsh also said there might be scope to negotiate with CA on the “no more than two players” rule if it comes up.
“It is a complex, confusing contract in parts and we will deal with situations as they arise,” Marsh said.