Why the tribe of freelance cricketers keeps growing
KOLKATA: “Professional Cricket player…proudly South African”. That is AB de Villiers’s Twitter bio. Chris Gayle’s bio describes him as the “Universe Boss”. Apart from being a “Jesus follower, father and husband”, former South Africa captain Faf Du Plessis states that he is a “Pro cricketer”. So does Andre Russell on his Instagram account. All of them, barring de Villiers who decided on Tuesday not to come out of international retirement, are available for their countries in this year’s T20 World Cup.
But since none of them is centrally contracted by his board, he could still choose not to turn up for the ICC event. And this tribe of freelancers is growing, in number and profile.
The Indian board doesn’t allow it, but freelancing in cricket isn’t new. It was seen in Kerry Packer’s series in Australia and the T20 Indian Cricket League but it blossomed in the Indian Premier League, allowing retired and fringe foreign cricketers to sign up as professionals. If stars such as Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff have got obscene amounts, journeyman players like Brad Hodge, Dirk Nannes and Ryan ten Doeschate too made a splash.
The cricketers who benefited most were those who started freelancing in their 20s—gayle was 28 during the inaugural edition in 2008, de Villiers and Lasith Malinga were 24 and Kieron Pollard (who had turned down a central contract at the beginning of his career) was barely 21. Consistently good performances not only made them a top draw but also gave them the financial security to speak their mind.
So when Gayle went on a selfimposed exile from international cricket just after criticising the West Indian board and coach Ottis Gibson post the 2011 World Cup debacle, he wasn’t insecure about fading from public memory. IPL had already taken care of that.
That period also saw Gayle in top form. He scored two centuries and had a strike rate of 183 in 2011, his personal best. In 2012, he hammered 59 sixes, the highest ever in an IPL season till date. Gayle’s stature as a T20 stalwart grew and the West Indies board realised they needed him more than he them.
Constant spats with the board notwithstanding, Gayle has always spoken of his desire to win a third World T20 title. “When I got the call and they asked if I’m willing and interested, I said: ‘Yes, I want to play for West Indies’… The bigger picture is actually to get three T20 titles under my belt. That’s actually the goal I’m setting in my head by winning the T20 World Cup,” Gayle said ahead of the T20 series against Sri Lanka earlier this year.
Gayle is 41 and has ruled himself out of the 50-over World Cup in 2023 but maintains he could keep going till 45. “Fortyfive is a good number. Yeah, we can target 45. Let’s target 45, that’s a good number,” he said last year.
The first casualty of age is fitness. But T20 cricket, where a batsman can compensate for the lack of singles with big hits and a pacer has to bowl only four overs, can offset fitness issues up to a point. That’s why Gayle is still in demand today. The same reason works for Malinga, 37, who last played a competitive match in March 2020, as well. Last week, Sri Lanka’s selectors were still hopeful that Malinga would agree to play in this T20 World Cup even though the pacer is yet to commit.
De Villiers’s case is different. In good form and fitness in this year’s IPL, de Villiers has often looked indecisive about his international career in the backdrop of South Africa’s string of failures in ICC events. When he retired, de Villiers said: “I have had my turn, and to be honest, I am tired.” Even du Plessis had confirmed on R Ashwin’s Youtube show that de Villiers didn’t want to play international cricket because he didn’t have the drive anymore.
And yet there was this underlying desire to win a title for South Africa. Perhaps, that bubbled over just before the 2019 World Cup, creating an air of confusion and derailing South Africa’s campaign in ways they could never imagine. This time, talks of bringing de Villiers back were more constructive, with coach Mark Boucher playing a crucial role.
“AB has his reasons, which I respect,” Boucher was quoted as saying by ‘The Citizen’ newspaper. “He alluded to being concerned about coming in ahead of other players who have been a part of the system. I don’t think it sat well with him, which I understand.”
The other freelancers may not share de Villiers’s views. Many believe playing franchise leagues are a way to stay in shape and prepare for international competitions. David
Warner and Steve Smith played in the Global T20 Canada in 2018 while serving one-year bans after the ball-tampering scandal.
Another example would be the Cricket West Indies approving of Russell’s decision to withdraw from the T20I series against India in 2019 and play in Canada as part of his knee injury rehabilitation plans. “We cleared him fit to play in Canada as a batsman,” CWI chief executive Johnny Grave was quoted as saying by Espncricinfo. “He’s not contracted to us so we can’t tell him what to do. He listens and takes on our advice, I know it for sure.”
On Tuesday, Russell, Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer were named in the provisional squads for the T20I home series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. This shows the role franchise leagues play when it comes to the international future of freelancers. Du Plessis was hoping for the same when he retired from Test cricket earlier this year. “The next two years are ICC T20 World Cup years. Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be.” Look up his record this IPL (320 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 145.45, his highest ever) and you know he is on the right track.
Even if the top freelancers don’t choose to represent their countries, they are expected to be sought after by leagues seeking superstars to add credibility to their brand.
That is why Gayle is almost always the first foreign player to be signed, be it in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka or even in lesser popular leagues in Canada or Nepal. Now that de Villiers has confirmed he won’t play for South Africa, his franchise workload could increase. Come September he could play in Nepal’s Everest Premier League. “I think every franchise will run behind a player like AB de Villiers. We know other teams are also trying to get him like us,” Lalitpur Patriots owner Kishor Maharjan has been quoted as saying.