The World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) has renewed calls for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to establish a global arbitration body to address growing concerns over delayed or non-payment of players in franchise leagues.
With multiple leagues failing to fulfill financial commitments, players have been left in limbo, prompting demands for a structured enforcement mechanism akin to FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber in football.
Sri Lankan cricketers, both active and retired, have also been directly affected by these payment disputes, with reports of outstanding wages from the Lanka Premier League (LPL), the Lanka T10 League, Overseas tournaments like the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Abu Dhabi T10.
Some players have raised concerns about non-payment for months, while others have been caught in financial uncertainty after featuring in teams that later faced operational issues.
Late payments have become a recurring issue in domestic franchise circuits, with recent reports surfacing from leagues such as the Abu Dhabi T10, BPL, Max60 in the Cayman Islands and several Legends Leagues including LLC.
The WCA, which has been tracking player contracts across 53 men’s and women’s franchise tournaments worldwide, has identified 17 leagues with outstanding payment issues.
“Late and non-payment is a persistent issue in domestic leagues globally, and the issue is not getting better,” said WCA Chief Executive Tom Moffat. “We have advocated for a long time for some basic global protections that could assist the players, and the game, to address this issue.”
Moffat emphasized that players in officially sanctioned leagues should have confidence in their contracts, ensuring that payment terms are met and that an effective enforcement mechanism exists to handle disputes. However, under the current structure, the ICC maintains that domestic league issues fall under the jurisdiction of individual member boards, limiting global intervention.
One proposed solution is for leagues to adopt an escrow-based payment system, where franchise owners deposit player salaries into a secure account before a season begins. This would prevent leagues and franchises from blaming each other for financial shortcomings while ensuring players are paid on time.
With the franchise cricket ecosystem expanding rapidly, the push for a global dispute resolution body is gaining momentum. The ICC and domestic cricket boards now face increasing pressure to implement financial safeguards to protect players and restore confidence in the system. (Newswire)