Compensation payments system for counties' IPL players is outdated: PCA

It is learned that England players without central contracts pay a rich proportion of their annual salary back to their counties when they miss games due to their participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

As per an ESPN Cricinfo report, 'players without central contracts are required to pay 1 percent of their annual salary back to their counties for the first 21 days that they miss due to IPL involvement and a further 0.7 percent for subsequent days. With most of those affected earning top-end county salaries, the system has led to payments of more than £50,000 from those playing the full IPL season to their counties.'

They further quoted the PCA director of cricket operations as saying that, "There was a formula put in place back in 2010 of deductions from county salaries for those taking part in the IPL. We've had requests from members about it and we feel as though it needs updating, and that there need to be conversations around what that formula looks like."

"I think everyone would agree that the cricketing world has changed substantially since 2010 and clearly England's stance with regards to players playing in the IPL has changed. In 2010, it was almost a preventative measure to try and discourage as many players as possible from going to the IPL; now, the ECB is encouraging English players to go and experience that tournament because of the benefits gained from playing in it," Mitchell added.

"We absolutely believe that the counties need compensation and we're not getting away from the fact that players are spending time away - there does need to be some compensation when counties are missing their players for that 'indow. We're just saying that it needs to be reviewed and looked at - it's outdated and needs changing."