LONDON: The Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA), which is considered to be ‘The Global Cricketers Voice’, is all set to block a potential move by the game’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) to restrict the participation of players to just 3 T20 leagues in a year.
In its media release on Wednesday, FICA opined that international cricket and domestic T20 leagues must run concurrently for the future of the game. Emphasizing on a player’s fundamental rights, they must be allowed to play in the competitions of their choice in which they are valued the most. The concerns are maximum in countries such as West Indies, which cannot pay its players as well as India, Australia or England for example and have seen their cricketers become T20 mercenaries around the world. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand are other nations that are struggling to balance their players needs to earn a decent living as well as play for their country.
“FICA believes that a fit-for-purpose global regulatory framework is necessary,” said FICA Executive Chairman, Tony Irish. “We will however continue to oppose blanket or arbitrary restrictive measures imposed on players without agreement. We urge the ICC to resolve imbalances and tensions caused by the structure of the game, scheduling and game economics through positive measures which will also allow the game to grow globally. FICA wants to be part of this endeavour.”
The FICA also proposed that the ICC should ensure a fair hearing to players who are punished for offences such as ball tampering as the governing body have recently made punishments harsher. It also believes that cricket officials must also be held accountable for their behaviour, while also keeping in mind that rehabilitation and education should precede punishments.
