Emirates Cricket Board allow IPL franchise to sign four of their own players for UAE T20 League

The UAE T20 League which is expected to get underway between early January and mid-February in 2023, has already brought about a lot of excitement as three teams from IPL have been given the first right to pick their players. As per the latest reports, the three IPL franchises will now have an option to sign four players from their IPL parent side.

This means that Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kolkata Knight Riders, the three franchises will now have the option to rope in players like Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, and Tim David, or even Jofra Archer for that case. This makes the tournament more interesting and the biggest players will be back in partnership with their home IPL franchises again. The tournament has raised comparisons with IPL already, and hence auction-type player picks are likely to be avoided as well.

Also, it has to be noted that the other three franchise owners will have the same rights to sign four players, and the teams are set to have a player fee of USD 2 million, which is relatively high when compared to other leagues except IPL. The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) officials recently met in Ahmedabad for the IPL 2022 final and the six-team tournament schedule is likely to be released after talks with the national cricket boards.

Each franchise will be allowed to sign four players of their choice: ECB Secretary general

The ECB secretary-general Mubashir Usmani noted that each of the six franchises will have the luxury of signing four players ahead of draft or auction which is yet to be decided. He added about the importance of the players getting NOCs from their nation’s cricketing board as well.

“Each franchise will be allowed to sign four players of their choice outside of the draft or auction which we will decide later. It could be any player who has a NOC from his home board.” Mubashir Usmani, the secretary-general of the ECB, told Cricbuzz on Thursday (June 2).