LONDON: Around 50 England players are threatening to boycott The Hundred 2025 as a protest against England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) new policy to prohibit them from playing in overseas franchise leagues, English media reported on Friday.
Last month, the ECB decided not to issue to the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to national cricketers for participating in overseas franchise leagues that clash with the domestic season, in a bid to preserve the quality and competitiveness of England’s domestic cricket.
ECB’s new policy, however, did not sit well with a large number of England players, who according to reports, expressed their disappointment with the board.
Details further shared that around 50 players were part of the series of meeting with the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), who will be taking calls to analyze issuing a formal response to the ECB.
Furthermore, a group of English players also decided to not become a part of the negotiations around being retained by their respective The Hundred teams and then to refuse to enter the draft until ECB softens its policy regarding the NOCs.
The reports further claimed that notable county players are considering to retire from red-ball if they land lucrative contracts for the next year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL).
“In principle, this is a 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,” a source close to the developments was quoted by the publication.
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.
