Wellington, July 10: Some of the most prominent names in the New Zealand cricket have delayed signing their national contracts due to forseeing a clash of their international schedule with the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL).
Wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum and all-rounder Jacob Oram, country’s highest-paid players in the IPL, were reluctant to sign their contracts until the dates of the third edition of the lucrative T20 event are released, the ‘New Zealand Herald’ reported.
According to the daily, the players feared that their home series against Australia in March and April next year may conflict with their roles in the cash-rich T20 league.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ recruit McCullum currently earns 700,000 dollars, while Oram has signed a 675,000 dollars contract with Chennai Super Kings to play in the IPL, although the amount players receive is based on the number of games
they play.
However, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan said players were given a deadline until July 24 to sign contracts, and he was confident all 20 players, who were offered contracts last month, would sign. Vaughan said dates clashing between the Australian tour and the IPL were just speculations as no dates for the T20 event had yet been set, the daily added.
—–Agencies