Roy’s decision to end ECB contract for T20 league may lead to player exodus
Batting star Jason Roy is ending his England contract to play in the first season of Major League Cricket in the United States.
The aggressive opener, who has just returned from a stint with Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, reportedly has an offer from their affiliated MLC franchise, the Los Angeles Knight Riders.
It is understood the 32-year-old has been offered about £300,000 ($370,000) for the first two seasons of the new American Twenty20 competition, which launches in July.
Roy was dropped from England's central contract list last year, downgraded to an incremental deal worth between £60,000 and £70,000.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement on Thursday that it had agreed for Roy to play in the US "on the proviso that he gives up the remainder of his ECB incremental contract, which both parties have agreed to".
"The ECB wish to clarify that this decision will not affect Jason's selection for England teams going forward," it added.
But his decision is expected to raise questions about players' long-commitment to their national teams in a fast-changing landscape of global cricket, with the cash-rich franchise leagues posing a serious threat to the health of international cricket.
Recently, several England and New Zealand players decided to skip their teams' international commitments to play in the lucrative T20 leagues.
Former England players Michael Vaughan and Ravi Bopara also admitted that teams are likely to lose more players to T20 leagues in the future. —