EXCLUSIVE: Patel: compensation idea 'absolutely wrong'

JAMES COYNE: Notts allrounder against the idea of players having to repay a share of their wages to counties for appearing in overseas T20 competitions

Samit Patel has voiced his opposition to the idea that players should pay compensation to their counties for participating in T20 franchise tournaments outside of the English season.

Coaches from 15 of the 18 counties are due to attend a summit meeting at Edgbaston next week to discuss how to deal with their contracted players appearing in overseas franchise T20 tournaments. Some are reported to be suggesting that players pass on a percentage of their earnings to their county in exchange for their time away.

Patel, the Nottinghamshire allrounder, appeared in this year’s Pakistan Super League, including the final at Karachi, and entered the auction for the IPL.

“If the counties bring in compensation for going away, that would be an absolutely wrong from the player development point of view,” Patel told The Cricketer at Notts’ pre-season photocall.

“I think the winter is there for exploring. Why should you be stuck inside not playing cricket when you could be playing cricket abroad? Why shouldn’t you go round the world playing with better players and learning from better coaches? If the counties are not very happy about it, I think it’s the wrong way to go to be honest.

“Obviously, yes, Notts are paying me for not being here in the winter, but I’m developing my skills and my game which will help Notts in the summer and the future. So why should there be compensation for that?”

^{"Players have got to earn a living ... Their careers don’t last forever"}

Players are, however, already obliged to pay some compensation for going off to the IPL, as it falls at the start of the county season. Last year, England Test cricketers pay back a percentage of their salary to the ECB for each day away at the IPL; players contracted by their counties paid 1 per cent to them for each of the first 21 days, dropping to 0.7 per cent thereafter; those on the ECB’s white-ball contracts pay a share to their county, but not the ECB.

Some county coaches would like other arrangements to be introduced for the other T20 tournaments.

Patel added: “There’s always compensation for the IPL, but that’s the only tournament round the world that does. From my point of view [appearances in other tournaments] are not [adversely] influencing Notts in any way. I’m not missing any cricket for Notts.

“If it comes in, then there would have to be a conversation, because I’m not going to be very happy about that.”

Patel said he had come back from this year’s PSL a better spin bowler for working with former Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who is coming over to England to work with him again during the summer.

Patel's county coach, Peter Moores, is expected to attend the meeting at Edgbaston on April 10 on behalf of Notts. According to a report on ESPNcricinfo, some of the coaches are advocating that players pass on a percentage of their earnings; others that T20 leagues should pay loan fees to the English counties. The Cricketer understands the ECB is not set to be involved in the meeting.

^{"Why should you be stuck inside not playing cricket when you could be playing cricket abroad?"}

Counties are undoubtedly worried that other players will follow the example of Notts’ Alex Hales and Adil Rashid of Yorkshire in pursuing white-ball-only contracts with their counties, as a way of freeing up more time to play in and prepare for T20 tournaments and ODIs. But some of the smaller counties in particular need players to be eligible for all three formats.

While the IPL is set to occupy an official window in the Future Tours Programme for the first time from next year, the same is not the case for other T20 tournaments, which are cropping up regularly, such as the Hong Kong T20 Blitz and a mooted league in Canada. The Guardian reported that the ICC will this month consider a set of radical proposals to safeguard member boards against the proliferation of T20 tournaments.

Patel was not granted a No-Objection Certificate by Notts to play for Peshawar Zalmi in the 2017 final at Lahore, but the successful implementation of that event and the World XI series in Pakistan led him to take his place in the 2018 final for Islamabad United. He opened the bowling at Karachi in front of a 40,000 crowd and took 2 for 26.

Moores said there was a balance to strike: “My feeling has always been the same. You have to embrace it to some degree. It’s the way of the world. Players have got to earn a living and play in tournaments round the world. We have to respect that. Their careers don’t last forever.

“Samit Patel has come back from playing in the PSL final in Karachi. The atmosphere was electric. What an experience for him. He’s come back from that PSL with two or three things he’s learned about his spin bowling. What a moment. To deny that would be very tough from clubs. We’ve just got to make sure it fits – there’s a balance in everything. Decisions have got to be fair.

^{Hales has been signed as David Warner's replacement at Sunrisers Hyderabad}

“There’s a difference in that the IPL falls in our season. The other ones [except the Caribbean Premier League] are in our winters. The people who are discussing it are people who’ve been in the game for a long time, so I’m sure sensible calls will be made to ensure it’s fair.”

On Hales’ decision, Moores said Notts hope to benefit in the two county white-ball tournaments from his focus.

“I totally understand it," said Moores. "It wasn’t a kneejerk decision, but it came out a bit like that because it was announced just after Adil Rashid’s.

“Alex has made the decision, and his reasons are very sound. He’s a good white-ball player who wants to become one of the very best, and he wants some space to work on that outside of tournaments. He knows there’s a World Cup coming in England in 2019, so he wants to be ready for that. We respect that.

“He was probably the standout player in the T20 Blast last summer, and anyone who finished with 187 not out in the Royal London final had had a pretty good 50-over tournament. We look at it like that. He’s a good role model for the youngsters, and he works a lot harder than some people think. He did well for us in those tournaments.

“I don’t know if he’ll be back [for the County Championship in future]. It’s a two-year contract he’s signed. It’s not for us to decide. Two or three have gone down that route, and it will be interesting to see how it goes for them.”