Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone of England and PSL champions.
Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone of England and PSL champions. Image Credit: X

The high-profile players of England are ordered to enter the 2025 season of the draft in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) despite the strong and stiff restriction from the England Cricket Board (ECB) using their new policy on the participation of the players in the overseas franchise leagues as the reports of Daily Mail has addressed.

The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has already penned down to the governing body of the event and set out for the legal position on several issues that are related to the new rules on the No Objection Certificates (NOCs), which are required for the players to play in their overseas leagues.

A few weeks ago, the Telegraph reported that a group of nearly 50 leading players from England were considering boycotting the upcoming 2025 season of the Hundred against the new policy of the ECB, which highlighted that they could feature in only one overseas franchise league around the world.

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The headline shed light, that the board would not be issuing any of the NOCs for the event that will be engaged with the England summer unless the players are on a white-ball-only deal with the county. The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 is scheduled to be played in April and May this season because of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at home and will overlap with the Indian Premier League (IPL), which isn’t part of the policy.

England players to enter PSL 2025 draft despite restrictions placed

Also, the other England players who won’t have a deal with the ten IPL franchises won’t be able to participate in the tournaments that clash with the Vitality Blast, whose two blocks in the group games take place generally between May and July, while the knockouts are scheduled for September, while the Hundred is in August.

That’s never going to satisfy the domestic England players, who generally keep an eye on the Major League Cricket, Canada’s Global T20 League, and the Lanka Premier League, besides the Caribbean Premier League. Most of these events are short in their duration and are quite luxurious in money making.

“In principle, this is really strong stance that shows the strength of feeling. The question is if some break ranks because money talks, and there could be a domino effect.” The reports of the Telegraph elaborated.

The professional England players already have a few meetings with the PCA through their agents. The ECB is also set to make a declaration on paying the men’s Hundred next year as the payment is expected to be around £175,000 for the long event, which could turn the player’s trade.

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The players have now considered suing the ECB for restraint to trade to counter the measures. The PCB has reportedly discussed the matter with the ECB before making a legal step. The top England players may not feature in the PSL despite not getting an IPL deal, as is the case with Johnny Bairstow or Joe Root or David Warner and Steve Smith from Australia.

The BCCI has already announced that the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will take place from March 14 to 25. Now, it’s up to the ECB to pay attention to the regulations and policies of their players regarding issuing the NOCs for overseas leagues in a year. The Pakistan Super League is expected to take place at the start of April next year, while the draft could take place in the upcoming weeks.